Undefined Explosive Device (UED) event in Saskatchewan, Yorkton area, Canada on Mon 29th July 2024

One man from Yorkton, a man from Ontario and another from Quebec are all facing several charges following an investigation into drug trafficking and kidnapping in the Yorkton area where a man was found severely injured and confined in a barn.

According to an RCMP news release, officers searched a Yorkton business on July 29 as part of a drug trafficking investigation and arrested a 23-year-old Ontario man.

Police said further investigation led them to a property south of Yorkton in the RM of Wallace, where a 46-year-old man from Yorkton was arrested after police used a drone to locate him.

The RCMP said in its searches of the business in Yorkton, the rural property and a vehicle, officers seized 14 guns, an explosive device with a detonator, 161 grams of methamphetamine, ammunition, drug trafficking paraphernalia and cash.

Police said that while searching the rural property, investigators found a severely injured man forcibly confined inside a barn. Investigators determined the man had been kidnapped.

The RCMP’s emergency medical team provided immediate medical support for the man before he was transported to hospital, the release said.

The 46-year-old man from Yorkton was charged with aggravated assault, adult kidnapping and two counts of possession for the purpose of trafficking. The 23-year-old man from Ontario was charged with adult kidnapping, possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000 and two counts of possession for the purpose of trafficking.

The man from Quebec, whose age was not provided, was charged with two counts of possession for the purpose of trafficking.

The RCMP said the bomb will be disposed of safely by its explosives disposal unit.

The current condition of the man found confined to the barn is not known.