SASKATOON – An Archerwill woman will head to trial in October on drug trafficking and weapons offences.
Holly Schweitzer, 38, was arrested after the RCMP gang unit, along with the Warrant Enforcement Suppression Team and Greenwater RCMP, raided a home in Archerwill March 30. At the home they also arrested 54-year-old Rudi Betthel of Bjorkdale who was wanted by Tisdale RCMP on weapons and drug charges and by Saskatoon Police for failing to appear in court.
During the raid police seized an illegally modified firearm, machete, Tazer, knife, other weapons and ammunition, methamphetamine, LSD, OxyContin and other pills, and a sum of cash. The RCMP say that a search warrant was obtained after a police investigation determined there was evidence of drug trafficking at the Archerwill home. Archerwill is about 70 kilometres southeast of Melfort.
Following the raid, Betthel was charged with possession of methamphetamine, four counts of failing to comply with a release order, and possession of proceeds of crime.
In March, Tisdale RCMP issued an arrest warrant for Betthel after they raided his home and seized a loaded prohibited firearm, drugs, and drug trafficking paraphernalia.
In that incident, Betthel was charged with two counts of possession for the purpose of trafficking, possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000, four counts of failing to comply with release conditions, unsafe storage of a firearm, possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose, possession of a prohibited weapon knowing possession was unauthorized, unlicensed possession of a restricted firearm/prohibited weapon with ammunition, and two counts of possession of a weapon contrary to an order, and failing to surrender.
At the time, Betthel was also wanted on a bench warrant issued by a judge in Saskatoon Provincial Court in March when he failed to appear in court on charges stemming from April 2021. The charges include 10 drug trafficking and five weapons related offences. Those charges were laid after police raided homes in Saskatoon and Bjorkdale following a traffic stop in April 2021. The traffic stop was a result of an investigation which began in March 2021 when the Saskatoon Integrated Crime Reduction Team, the RCMP Prince Albert Gang Task Force, and the Melfort and Tisdale RCMP Detachments joined forces after they learned about the presence of large quantities of drugs in the area. The Saskatoon Police Service Tactical Support Unit conducted the traffic stop at the investigative team's direction just outside of Saskatoon on Highway 7 near Township Road 340. Betthel was driving and allegedly had a significant amount of methamphetamine, Fentanyl, cocaine and related drug paraphernalia in his possession.
After the traffic stop, police got a search warrant for Betthel’s Bjorkdale home where they seized firearms, methamphetamine, ketamine, hydromorphone and additional drug paraphernalia. Police then executed a search warrant at a home in Saskatoon and seized drugs, a firearm and weapons. The S-ICRT seized approximately 4,068 individual does of methamphetamine, 992 doses of cocaine and about 3,062 doses of Fentanyl.
Tricia Karpluk, 39, of Saskatoon, was arrested in that investigation and charged with trafficking drugs, possession of proceeds obtained by crime, and three weapons-related offences.
Karpluk is back in Saskatoon court Sept. 15 for a show cause hearing and Betthel is in Saskatoon court Monday.
The charges against Betthel, Schweitzer, and Karpluk haven't been tested in court.
— Click for more from Crime, Cops and Court.
#CrimeCopsCourt_SKTODAY
