Banff RCMP Pulled $70,000 in Drugs Off the Street This Year

Banff RCMP seized more than $70,000 worth of illicit drugs this year along with two offence-related vehicles and $24,000 in cash, marking one of the most productive periods of drug trafficking interdiction the detachment has reported in years. Yet despite the size of those seizures, a substance that has reshaped Alberta’s drug landscape has been largely absent from Banff’s major files: fentanyl.

Staff Sgt. Mike Buxton-Carr says the detachment has not confirmed fentanyl in any of the substances seized in 2025. That finding stands in contrast to trends across the province, where the opioid continues to drive high overdose rates. He cautions that the absence of confirmed fentanyl does not mean the drug is not present in the Bow Valley. According to him, people who use drugs should continue to take precautions such as not using alone and accessing naloxone kits through AHS distribution sites.

Instead, Banff’s seizures continue to involve stimulants and hallucinogens. Buxton-Carr says the substances most commonly intercepted this year include cocaine, ketamine, MDMA and psilocybin. These drugs have long been associated with Banff’s late-night economy and its high number of visitors and transient workers. They continue to shape the environment in which the detachment operates.

The significant seizures this year have not been tied to recognized organized crime groups. Buxton-Carr says the individuals linked to local trafficking activity in 2025 are not considered organized crime figures. The offenders charged this year have all been residents of Bow Valley communities. He notes that organized crime is still expected to be involved at some point in the wider supply chain between importation or production and the community level, but the people operating directly in Banff tend to be small-scale actors.

The detachment’s ability to pursue targeted trafficking investigations is supported by the General Investigation Section (GIS), which has been operating at full strength in recent years. The GIS focuses on complex, serious or serial offences and coordinates the detachment’s proactive drug enforcement strategy. Buxton-Carr says their work is central to the interdiction efforts, which rely on methodical and targeted investigations rather than broad enforcement sweeps. He added that the detachment is adequately resourced for the level of drug activity anticipated in 2026.

Although enforcement operations have been successful, the drug market itself adjusts quickly. Buxton-Carr describes illegal drug distribution as functioning along similar supply and demand lines as legal commodities. When police remove a supplier through enforcement action, another typically emerges to meet demand. In a small and seasonal community like Banff, where the population fluctuates constantly, this correction can happen quickly and often invisibly to residents.

The $70,000 in drugs seized this year is higher than usual, but Buxton-Carr cautions against interpreting the figure as evidence of an expanding drug market. He says the unusually high total is more likely the result of the timing and nature of recent investigations rather than a sign that trafficking has intensified.

The increase in drug interdiction activity comes during a year when several other crime indicators have moved in a different direction. According to the Town of Banff’s Service Review documents, the Municipal Crime Severity Index has dropped again, falling from 65.2 to 63.5. The decline was driven in part by a continued reduction in break and enters, which have trended downward for the second consecutive year. Violent crime indicators also improved, with decreases in both assault and sexual assault compared to the same period in 2024.

Traffic enforcement rose this year. RCMP officers issued 1,244 violation tickets as of November 30, compared to 1,203 tickets in all of 2024, placing 2025 above both last year’s total and the detachment’s historical range of 800 to 1,100 tickets per year. Despite the increase in overall enforcement activity, Buxton-Carr says the detachment has not observed a rise in drug-impaired driving. During a recent check stop operation supporting National Impaired Driving Enforcement Day, officers screened more than 200 drivers and issued only three sanctions under the Immediate Roadside Sanctions program.

The detachment’s broader capacity has also stabilized after several years of what Buxton-Carr described during the Service Review presentation as “ebbs and flows.” Frontline staffing has routinely been affected by medical leave, duty limitations and other disruptions. This fall, however, the detachment ended the year in what Buxton-Carr called a “rosy picture,” with several experienced officers arriving from Edmonton Police Service and Calgary Police Service. These arrivals have provided stability and ensured that key units like GIS remain fully staffed.

Together, the numbers suggest a community where trafficking remains active but largely local, where fentanyl has not yet reshaped the drug landscape, and where police are entering 2026 with more stability than they have had in years.