There’s been a new word that’s being used a lot in the Thunder Bay community and it took some questions to officials to detail what it means when it’s used.
“Home take over” has been used over a dozen times in police reports by the Thunder Bay Police Service in 2021 alone.
Speaking to Detective-Inspector John Fennell about the definition of this terms for the police service, he says the most common cases in Thunder Bay are where the suspect(s) are known to the victim.
The situation usually plays out like this: the victim is an avid drug user and gets offered free drugs by their dealer, they take the offer. The dealer does this a few times to build up a large enough debt with the user. The user then becomes a victim as the dealer tells them that their home will be used for dealing in order to pay off their debt. More free drugs are offered, thus adding to the victims growing debt.
Often times the victims are threatened with physical harm if they go to police or try to leave. Sometimes, harm has come to them by the time police can intervene in the situation.
The other type of home take over situation is very, very rare according to Det. Inspector Fennell.
It’s when the suspect(s) are not known to the victim and the home is seized by the assailants for the purposes of drug trafficking.
This, he said, is very uncommon in Thunder Bay and it’s more likely that the first situation is to happen instead.
Our newsroom reached out to TBPS Media Relations Coordinator, Scott Paradis, about the number of incidents like these in the city. We counted more than 12 releases talking about home take over situations for 2021. He replied with the following;
…there are probably more as releases aren’t sent out for every incident as the real number would likely be much, much higher than that.
This comes on the heels of the police launching their Project Reveal campaign.
This is where members of the TBPS visit neighbourhoods known or have suspected drug trafficking activity, and through informative pamphlets or direct conversations with residents. Police are asking concerned residents to talk with police about any goings-on within their neighbourhoods that could be connected with drug activity.
Police need significant evidence in order to get warrants to investigate possible drug activity, and police are asking the public to help them by providing key details.
In 2021, the TBPS executed 128 warrants connected to drug trafficking investigations.
Investigators have also seized about 2.2 kilograms of fentanyl, when it only takes a few grains that look like salt to cause an individual overdose and risk death. Meanwhile, the prevalence of fentanyl continues to be a serious concern.
Almost four million dollars in drugs have been seized.
