![]() | Calgary police say they've laid the first charges under a new section of Alberta law that made the unauthorized possession of pill presses illegal in an effort to combat the spread of illicit fentanyl. Police said Monday that a man and a woman were arrested during a traffic stop on Oct. 12 after officers found fentanyl pills, $58,000 in counterfeit Canadian currency and a 9-mm semi-automatic handgun in their vehicle. Behrooz Rafizada, 27, and his wife, Jocelynn Aida Saliba, 28 were arrested. They face 59 charges between them related to firearms, drug trafficking, production of a controlled substance and counterfeiting offences. | ![]() |
![]() Reflective strips used to make counterfeit Canadian currency were found. Police said there was enough to create roughly $4.5 million in fake bills. | Police later found nearly $500,000 in counterfeit Canadian and U.S. currency, several firearms and equipment to produce counterfeit currency. That equipment included large-scale printers, uncut sheets of fake bills and reflective strips. | ![]() |