A north Lethbridge house linked to ongoing drug activity has been boarded up and shut down for 90 days, the result of a year-long investigation that started with neighbours speaking up.
The Alberta Sheriffs' Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods unit, known as SCAN, closed the property at 1226 13 Avenue North at noon on July 7. It stays vacated and secured until October 5, 2026, with conditions on the property remaining in force until October 5, 2028.
How it unfolded
The case began in March 2025 after community members complained about what was happening at the home. As SCAN investigated, officers observed a pattern they say is consistent with drug trafficking: a steady stream of short-term visits to the property, people coming and going quickly, the kind of foot traffic that tends to signal dealing rather than ordinary household activity.
In May 2025, the Lethbridge Police Service executed a search warrant at the home, seized drugs and drug paraphernalia, and arrested four people.
That wasn't the end of it. SCAN issued a warning letter to the property owner, but the complaints kept coming, and the unit says it continued to substantiate them. When a warning to the owner didn't stop the activity, SCAN escalated.
The court order that closed it
On June 30, 2026, SCAN obtained a Community Safety Order from the Court of King's Bench, the legal tool that allowed it to force the property closed. Under the order, the home is boarded up, fenced off, and every lock is changed for the length of the 90-day closure. SCAN says it will keep monitoring the property through that period.
The conditions extend well past the physical closure. While the boarding and fencing lift on October 5, 2026, the order's conditions stay attached to the property until October 5, 2028, a two-year tail meant to stop the activity from simply resuming once the house reopens.
What happens to the people who were living there
A closure order raises a question the release doesn't answer: what happens to whoever was inside?
Under the Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods Act, the order targets the property itself, so everyone has to leave, not just the people tied to the alleged activity. Anyone renting the home legitimately can be put out alongside it. The Act builds in a check: before granting an order, the Court of King's Bench weighs whether closure is a reasonable step and can consider the effect on innocent occupants, and these orders are meant as a last resort after warnings fail. Here, SCAN says it warned the owner first and the activity continued.
The owner carries the real weight. The whole model is about holding property owners accountable, which is the point of the conditions that stay attached to this home until 2028. Let the same activity resume once the boarding comes off, and the owner risks further action.
What SCAN is, and how these closures work
SCAN operates under Alberta's Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods Act, which targets the property rather than only the people using it. Instead of relying solely on criminal charges, the Act lets the Alberta Sheriffs go after owners through civil court orders, holding them accountable for illegal activity happening on their property and forcing problem addresses to close.
It's an approach the province has been using steadily. This Lethbridge closure follows similar SCAN shutdowns in Calgary in May, Edmonton in April, Ponoka in March, and a drug house in Wetaskiwin earlier this year. The through-line in most of them is the same as here: the investigations start with residents reporting what they're seeing in their own neighbourhoods.
"Illegal drug activity affects more than the people involved; it disrupts entire neighbourhoods and leaves residents feeling unsafe," said Mike Ellis, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Services, crediting the coordinated work of SCAN and Lethbridge police.
SCAN Inspector Brent Pickard pointed to the role residents played. "This investigation began because community members spoke up about ongoing concerns," he said, encouraging Albertans to keep reporting suspicious activity.
How to report a problem property
Albertans who suspect illegal activity at a property in their neighbourhood can report it to SCAN through the province's "Report a suspicious property" page at alberta.ca. Reports can be made confidentially, and as this case shows, they're often what starts an investigation.
Sources:
Government of Alberta, "Sheriffs shut down problem property in Lethbridge," July 7, 2026 (alberta.ca)
Statements from Mike Ellis, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Services, and SCAN Inspector Brent Pickard, July 7, 2026
Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods Act (SCAN)
