A total of 23 drivers who had consumed drugs and/or alcohol before getting behind the wheel were removed from the road in the greater Yorkton area during a five-day traffic enforcement operation.

Yorkton Combined Traffic Services Saskatchewan (CTSS) officers tested 405 drivers for impairment between Feb. 18 and Feb. 22, according to RCMP.

CTSS units from Saskatoon RCMP, Yorkton RCMP, Lanigan RCMP, and the Saskatchewan Highway Patrol all took part in the coordinated event, with different areas patrolled each day.

The patrol areas included:

• Feb. 18 – Saskatoon-Lanigan-Yorkton area
• Feb. 19 - Yorkton-Langenburg-Esterhazy area
• Feb. 20 - Yorkton-Foam Lake-Wynyard area
• Feb. 21 - Kamsack-Canora-Yorkton-Melville
• Feb. 22 - Yorkton-Punnichy-Wynyard area

Over the five-day operation, officers:

• Issued 304 warnings and 231 tickets, with 84 or those for cellphone use
• Suspended three driver’s licences for alcohol use before driving and 17 licences for drug use before driving
• Charged two drivers with one count of operating a vehicle while impaired by alcohol
• Charged one driver with on count of operating a vehicle while impaired by drugs
• Charged one driver with one count of operating a vehicle while prohibited
• Inspected five private vehicles and 13 vehicles
• Seized over nine kilograms of methamphetamine and fentanyl

There are currently 86 Saskatchewan RCMP police officers and 34 municipal police officers across Saskatchewan who are part of 18 CTSS units in the province.