Skip to content

Woman charged in huge drug bust fails to appear in Saskatoon court

A woman facing drug trafficking and weapons charges failed to appear in Saskatoon Provincial Court May 18. Tricia Karpluk, 29, of Saskatoon, was arrested in a drug bust after police raided homes in Saskatoon and in Bjorkdale on April 26.
karpluk and betthel
Tricia Karpluk and Rudi Betthel were arrested near Saskatoon in April after police raided two homes and seized drugs and weapons. Police photo

A woman facing drug trafficking and weapons charges failed to appear in Saskatoon Provincial Court May 18.

Tricia Karpluk, 29, of Saskatoon, was arrested in a drug bust after police raided homes in Saskatoon and in Bjorkdale on April 26.

A bench warrant to hold was issued and if she fails to appear on June 1 then the warrant will be activated.

During the raid police seized a significant amount of methamphetamine, Fentanyl, and cocaine. According to the Saskatoon Integrated Crime Reduction Team (S-ICRT), the amount of drugs seized represents around 4,068 individual sales of Methamphetamine, 992 individual sales of cocaine and about 3,062 potential street levels sales of Fentanyl.

Karpluk was charged with trafficking drugs, possession of proceeds obtained by crime, possession of proceeds obtained by crime under $5,000, possess a weapon for a dangerous purpose, store a firearm in a careless manner, and possess a firearm knowing the serial number has been removed.

Rudi Betthel, 52, of Bjorkdale, was also arrested. He was charged with five counts of trafficking drugs, five counts of possession for the purpose of trafficking, and five counts of possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose.

Betthel was denied bail earlier this month. He appears next in Saskatoon Provincial Court on June 2.

The charges against Betthel and Karpluk haven't been proven in court.