Police arrest 2 people in car on N.W.T. road, allege they were carrying drugs with intent to sell

Two people have been arrested and charged in the N.W.T. for allegedly carrying illegal weapons and 740 grams of crack cocaine.

Police believe the pair intended to resell the drugs and so charged them with possession with the purpose of trafficking, according to a news release from RCMP on Thursday.

"This is a large amount of crack cocaine, and it supports significant drug trafficking, and unfortunately the presence of drugs and guns in the territory is becoming all too prevalent," Cpl. Matt Halstead said in an interview.

Andrew Norn, 38, of Fort Resolution, N.W.T., and Marilyn Beaulieu, 28, of Hay River, N.W.T., were arrested during a traffic stop while driving south between Behchokǫ̀ and Yellowknife on Tuesday evening and taken into custody, say police.

In the news release, police said they "formed grounds to arrest the driver for possession of a controlled substance for the purpose of trafficking" during the traffic stop, but did not elaborate on how they did this. Asked about this in an interview, Halstead said officers had suspicions the vehicle was trafficking a controlled substance.

Norn was told he was under arrest, say police, but refused to get out of his vehicle. Instead, police say he rolled up his window so "officers forced entry into the vehicle through a window and took the driver into custody."

Norn and Bealieu allegedly had a 9mm handgun in the vehicle, and a prohibited high-capacity magazine, in addition to 740 grams of crack cocaine. As a result, the two were also charged with unauthorized possession of a restricted firearm and possession of a prohibited device.

The allegations have not been proven in court.

Both people were scheduled for a court hearing on Jan. 25.