Two Quesnel men are facing charges after an investigation by the B.C. RCMP's Federal Serious Organized Crime Section (FSOC) into an online party drug-selling operation.
Travis James Gaudette, 29, is facing 11 charges and Darryl Arthur Gaudette, 54, is facing seven charges - one count each of importation with trafficking making up the rest of the counts.
RCMP said the investigation began in June 2013 when Canada Border Service Agency intercepted a package containing 500 grams of butylone that originated in Nanjing, China and was destined for Quesnel.
Prince George investigators linked the persons believed responsible to an internet website that claimed to provide "safe alternatives to party drugs," and the Gaudettes were arrested the same month while police seized a variety of suspected drugs.
"Investigators believed the website was being used by the suspects to advertise and sell a wide variety of controlled substances to buyers across Canada," B.C. RCMP FSOC spokesperson Cpl. Laurie White said in a statement issued Friday. "The drugs were then being shipped through the mail to the purchaser. The website has since been successfully shut down."
Federal Crown counsel approved charges against the two on March 19. White attributed the delay to the time it took to have the 84 samples seized analyzed by lab analysts, who were not familiar with some of the substances.
"Contrary to what was being advertised by the sellers, a safe, legal alternative to party drugs does not exist," White said. "There is no quality control on these drugs."
The Gaudettes first appeared in Quesnel provincial court on April 8 and are scheduled to appear on May 27 to elect their mode of trial.
