Beach Day takedown

Staff Sergeant Barry Freeburn and Constable Kim Guthrie at Beach Day in 2011.

OPP nabs three teens for marijuana offences

It is a tradition with a long local history. In mid-June, with the school year winding down, many high school students across the region skip school to spend a day on the beach at Sandbanks Provincial Park. In past years Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) officers often mingled with students on the beach to ensure their safety and remind them of the limits to youthful exuberances. This year, the OPP took a decidedly harder stance.

On June 6, the OPP Prince Edward County Detachment with the assistance of the Highway Safety Division and the Snowmobile, All-Terrain Vehicle and Vessels Enforcement Team (SAVE), engaged in active enforcement activities at various locations surrounding and inside Sandbanks Provincial Park.

This included RIDE checks of more than 300 vehicles. During one of these checks, three young males were found to have marijuana and drug paraphernalia in their possession.

Two of the males, aged 16 were charged with one count each of Possession for the Purpose of Trafficking under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA). The third male, aged 17, was charged also charged under the CDSA with possession of a Schedule II controlled substance. One hundred and seventy- five grams of marijuana were seized, along with materials used in the consumption and sale of marijuana.

All three males were released on appearance notices with a court date for July 11, 2016 at the Ontario Court of Justice, Youth Division in Picton. The names of the young persons will not be released in accordance with the Youth Criminal Justice Act