Alberta sheriffs shutter suspected Calgary drug house with 17 rental suites

The Alberta Sheriffs have shut down an alleged drug house in Calgary’s northwest following complaints of drug activity and frequent visits from police.

From Aug. 1, 2022 to May 21, 2024, Calgary police paid 45 visits to the home for various calls for service.

The Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods (SCAN) unit of the Alberta Sheriffs got a court order against the owner of 19 Berwick Crescent NW, which gives investigators the authority to close the property for 63 days, starting at noon on Monday, May 27.

The community safety order, obtained in Court of King’s Bench, bars people from the property until the closure orders ends on July 29.

Any tenancy agreement or lease for any tenant of the property is terminated as of that date, according to the province.

Officials say there were 17 rental suites inside the house.

Mike Dirkson, an inspector with the Calgary SCAN unit, says the owner of the home was issued a warning letter in May 2023.

“With a warning letter we have a hope that we can open up communication with the owner,” he says. “Ultimately those conversations were not successful. We didn’t see a significant change in the behaviours and activities of people in this property.”

The property has been boarded up, fenced, and all the locks will be changed. The owner has been left access to allow contractors to visit the property, according to Dirkson.

After the 60 days the barriers surrounding the home will come down and investigators will monitor the property for a year. If there is evidence of criminal activity starting again then the investigation will be reinitiated.

Dirkson says officials attended the house twice before the order was signed to inform tenants they would need to vacate the property.

“It’s not lost on the unit and the investigators on the impact this can have,” he says. “Especially as we go through a housing crisis and a housing challenge. But having a unit that has that many people does not limit your accountability of what happens at your property.”

Alberta Sheriffs work with other law enforcement agencies to shut down properties being used for illegal activities.

Since it was created in 2008, the SCAN unit has investigated more than 9,000 properties and has been granted 119 community safety orders.

The unit uses legal sanctions and court orders to hold owners accountable for illegal activity happening on their property. The province says most complaints are resolved by working with property owners to stop the illegal activity on their property.