Brad Owen Minkus of Neepawa was sentenced on Feb. 26, 2013 in Minnedosa Provincial Court to three years jail for trafficking Cocaine and Oxycodone. Minkus was charged in May 2012 along with three other Neepawa area residents following an RCMP investigation into the street level sale and distribution of drugs within the community. Minkus will serve his sentence at the Stoney Mountain Correctional Facility in Manitoba. The three remaining accused are presently still before the courts. On May 15 and May 16, 2012, officers from Minnedosa, Neepawa and Gladstone RCMP arrested three people on a variety of offences associated to drug trafficking and noted they were seeking an additional fourth individual in connection to a long-term investigation known as Project Decibel. Project Decibel was initiated in December 2011 and largely focused on street-level drug trafficking in the RCMP West District, in particular the Spruce Plains Area which includes the communities of Neepawa, Minnedosa, Gladstone, and surrounding areas. This long-term investigation was initiated by the RCMP Spruce Plains Area based on intelligence gathered by detachment members and coordinated with the RCMP Brandon Major Crime Unit. During this investigation, RCMP members made seizures of quantities of powder cocaine and oxycontin. RCMP officers laid nine charges of trafficking in narcotics in connection with the project.