Police chief disappointed at alleged drug deals from chair outside consumption site

VICTORIA — Victoria’s police chief says undercover operatives didn’t have to look far to find evidence of criminality outside a safe consumption site in the city.

A suspected cocaine dealer was selling drugs from a chair set up directly in front of the overdose prevention facility, Chief Del Manak said.

The chief said in an interview on Thursday that he called senior leadership at the Island Health authority to express disappointment over the handling of the suspect, who allegedly sold the drug twice to undercover officers and was arrested.

Manak said he supports an overdose consumption site in the city, but it was “unacceptable” that a service provider from the facility on Pandora Ave. was seen to “do nothing” about the man.

“That’s disturbing, and it’s extremely disappointing for me to see that a staff member would do (nothing),” Manak said.

An employee at the facility had a “rapport” with the alleged dealer, interacted with the person and turned a “blind eye” to the alleged trafficking, the chief said.

He said the service provider “obviously” had a relationship with the alleged dealer, while a police news release said the man had “a consistent flow of customers.”

“Officers initiated two separate purchases from the man and notably observed a service provider from the facility interacting with him without any apparent concern for the illegal activity,” the release said.

Manak said Island Health told him it would be addressing his concerns through training and a policy review to make sure that the facility operates in co-operation with community partners, including the Victoria Police Department.

Island Health told The Canadian Press it was aware of arrests on Pandora Ave. “and we are thankful for the brave and tireless work our law enforcement partners do every day.”

It said that mitigating street disorder could include operators “building relationships with the community,” keeping those waiting for services calm and orderly, de-escalating aggression, encouraging people to pack up encampments in front of services, and “asking people to not actively deal.”

“These requests are based on relationships and trust and are not enforceable,” it said.

Manak said instead of interacting with the alleged dealer, the service provider should have called police.

He said he did not expect the worker to confront the man.

“I’m asking, ‘where is your sense of duty and responsibility for even the people accessing your site to see that there’s a drug trafficker setting up shop at your front doors?'” Manak said.

He added that it is the “sole responsibility” of his department to target drug traffickers and criminality at large. But it is “problematic” when drug trafficking is happening in front of a safe consumption site.

“Then you have a staff member connected to the location coming out and engaging with this individual,” Manak said.

“From there, the health authority cannot turn a blind eye, and they need to be responsive in phoning the police.”

Everybody, including service providers, have a “duty and responsibility” to stop street disorder, Manak said.

Manak said his department has a “very good working relationship” with Island Health, adding it supports the safe consumption site and the concept behind it.

“It offers support for individuals who are addicted to illicit drugs, and this is a much needed service,” he said.

The chief said he’s treating the incident as a “one-off,” and is confident that Island Health will address this issue.

The facility is located in the 900-block of Pandora Ave., in an area where homeless people have set up tents and other sleeping structures and crime has been a recurring problem.

Bicycles and shopping carts loaded with belongings are parked nearby. Portable fencing has been set up to separate encampments from a nearby church and other businesses.

Victoria recently announced more than $10 million for more police and bylaw officers and other measures to reduce crime, homelessness and addiction.

One city councillor submitted a recent motion to shut down the supervised consumption site, but council deferred request to later this year.

Manek said that would be a mistake.

“If we shut down supervised consumption sites, people are going to continue to use illicit drugs,” he said. “We know that the supervised consumption site is saving lives, but again, to shut down is not the right step.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 31, 2025.

Wolfgang Depner, The Canadian Press