ATHABASCA – Sometimes, all is not what it appears to be.
That was the case March 12 at the Athabasca RCMP Detachment when a resident brought in what appeared to be a regular, random bolt they found lying in the parking lot at Canadian Tire. Members soon learned it was much more than a random, abandoned bolt though.
“It's a bolt that someone has cut and hollowed out. So, when you pick it up, it just looks like a bolt, but actually the head screws off from the base, and then people put their illicit drugs in it,” Staff Sgt. Paul Gilligan explained in an interview March 19.
A white powder residue was found inside the faux bolt, which isn’t the first the local detachment has seen, as there are any number of seemingly normal-looking objects available for purchase that actually contain hiding places meant to conceal drugs, or other contraband.
The suspected drug residue will be cleaned out, and discarded, along with the bolt. Gilligan said he just wants to make sure parents are aware that such things are out there.
That was one of the complaints local RCMP officers dealt with between March 12-19, in what Gilligan called the quietest week he could recall in his three years at the Athabasca detachment, with 55 calls for service.
Complaints under the Criminal Code saw members respond to calls regarding one assault, four mischief, one uttering threats, one possession of a weapon, and three theft under $5,000 offences. There was also an investigation in relation to the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, said Gilligan.
In addition, members responded to four motor vehicle collisions involving property damage and one involving an off-road vehicle, along with five other driving offences. There were also two separate fires involving a vehicle and a trailer, that were both deemed non-suspicious, as well as three calls regarding suspicious vehicles or people.
Members assisted individuals and performed one wellbeing check and responded to two calls under the Mental Health Act, five 911 hang-ups and two complaints about COVID-19 Public Health Act violations, but no tickets were issued.
