Winnipeg police still looking for 1 of 2 men in connection with drug bust

Winnipeg police have charged one man and are looking for another after the two men eluded arrest in a mid-December drug bust, police say.

Police are still looking for Kevan Anderson, 41, and consider him armed and dangerous.

On Thursday police located, arrested and charged Cory Kozmenski, 47, with 21 offences related to drug trafficking, firearms, and court breaches.

Police had previously issued arrest warrants for the two men for 36 offences related to drug trafficking, firearms and court breaches after officers observed two suspects in a 2004 Jeep Compass attend a storage locker on Notre Dame Avenue.

Police tried to pull the vehicle over for a traffic stop, but the men drove off and collided with multiple vehicles near the intersection of Sargent Avenue and Edmonton Street, including a school bus with its safety lights activated, police previously said in a mid-December news release.

The Jeep was then located, unoccupied, on St. James Street, between Silver and St. Matthews avenues.

Police say during his arrest on Thursday, they found Kozmenski with over a dozen ecstasy pills, around $10 thousand CAD dollars and $400 US dollars.

Police additionally charged Kozmenski with possession of ecstasy for the purpose of trafficking, possession of drug proceeds over $5000, and two counts of failure to comply with conditions of undertaking. He is detained in custody.

Served time for drug offences 

Kozmenski was sentenced in 2019 to 30 months behind bars for possession of methamphetamine and cocaine for the purpose of trafficking and possession of the proceeds of crime, court documents said. 

Police executing a search warrant at a Winnipeg hotel in January 2018 found Kozmenski hanging outside a window. 

"It appears that he did not realize that, as the suite was on the third floor, there was quite a drop from the window to the ground," Court of King's Bench Justice Shawn Greenberg wrote in her sentencing decision. 

Kozmenski and another man were arrested after drugs were seized, including a suitcase with two kilograms of methamphetamine in it, Greenberg said. 

The judge said there was no indication Kozmenski was connected to the other man's drug operation prior to the day he was arrested.

But, she added, despite his "limited role" he had to be aware on that day drugs were being sold out of the hotel room. 

In 2013, he was sentenced to five years in prison for trafficking methamphetamine, Greenberg said. 

4 others arrested

The police investigation into the drug ring leading to the latest arrests started in November, police previously said.

Four other people were detained and charged at the time of the initial drug bust. They each face multiple charges tied to possession and trafficking.

Search warrants were executed and the tactical team was deployed to two locations in Winnipeg on Dec. 11, police previously said in a news release.

Police then seized the following items from a storage locker at the corner of Notre Dame Avenue and Erin Street, and a home on Spence Street between Sargent and Ellice avenues:

• $25,745 in Canadian cash.
• 545 grams of fentanyl, with an estimated street value of $163,500.
• 327 grams of methamphetamine, with an estimated street value of $32,700.
• 232 grams of cocaine, with an estimated street value of $23,200.
• T3 pills.
• Approximately 19,400 illegal cigarettes, with an estimated street value of $19,640.
• Drug packaging and paraphernalia.
• Loaded .22 calibre rifle.
• 2 detachable magazines for the .22 calibre rifle.
• 2 stolen saxophones and 2 stolen guitars, valued at $6,589.

Do not approach Kevan Anderson if seen and call 911 immediately, police say. Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to call 911 immediately.

If you believe your vehicle may have been involved in a collision related to this investigation, you can report online or call 204-986-6222.