Nanaimo RCMP says they were called at the intersection of Estevan Street and Departure Bay Road around 7:45 p.m. on April 16 for reports of a reversal of conflict. Mounties say several witnesses called police to report the collision and said the driver of the vehicle was dragged by the crashed car and left the area on foot. As police were on their way, Mounties says several witnesses continued to provide real-time updates on the driver’s whereabouts, leading to his arrest minutes later at Brooks Landing Mall. “Officers initially arrested the driver for impaired driving due to alcohol, but their focus quickly shifted after they noticed that he was literally holding two bricks of suspected cocaine in his hands,” Nanaimo RCMP said in a statement on Tuesday. The Mounties say the two cocaine bricks weighed about two pounds in total. The driver, 43-year-old Nicholas Harris, was arrested and released later that day with a court date scheduled for June 10. His vehicle, a newer model black Jaguar Cabrio, was also confiscated by police at the time. On Tuesday, Mountis said Harris appeared in court on June 10, when an occupation charge was sworn in for trafficking. His next trial is scheduled for the end of August, police say. “The police who located the suspect were surprised to find the suspect with such a large amount of illegal drugs,” Const said. Nanaimo RCMP’s Gary O’Brien in a statement on Tuesday. “The officers would also like to express their sincere appreciation to the passers-by who assisted the officers in staying at the scene and providing real-time updates that allowed investigators to locate the suspect quickly and effectively before he had a chance to hide or destroy the drugs. . ,” he said.
