Calgary police seize over 35,000 fentanyl pills in record drug bust

The largest fentanyl seizure in Calgary’s history –and one of the largest in the province –  netted more than 35,000 pills, with street value totalling more than $700,000.

On Friday, December 23, members of the Strategic Enforcement Unit – with the assistance of Tactical Team members – executed search warrants on a home in the 2300 block of Richmond Road S.W., as well as on a nearby vehicle believed connected to the case.

The vehicle had been reported stolen out of Strathmore and had a stolen licence plate.

During the operation on the home, a man was found inside one of the bedrooms and was reaching for a shotgun when officers arrested him.

A search of the home netted a stash of drugs and deadly weapons, including a record 35,321 fentanyl pills worth an estimated $706,000 on the street.

In additional to the fentanyl, more than $40,000 in cocaine, $22,000 in methamphetamine, roughly $9,000 in heroin, and varying amounts of marijuana, MDMA, Oxycodone tablets, morphine, and nearly 70 pills of which the chemical makeup has yet to be determined, were found stashed in the home.

Seven firearms were also found, including three 12-gauge shotguns, two rifles, a handgun and a crossbow. Various amounts of ammunition and multiple sets of body armour were also seized from the home.

A search of the vehicle, a 2011 Jeep Compass, turned up an additional $37,115 in Canadian cash.

Calgarian David Hillson Pratico, 31, has been charged in connection with the case. He faces more than two dozen drug and weapons-related offences, including the production of crack cocaine.