The youngest of a trio of brothers believed to be associated with the UN Gang was arrested by Abbotsford Police following a drug raid on Wednesday night.

Patrol officers, the drug unit and the Municipal Integrated Emergency Response Team raided an apartment complex in the 2300 block of Westerly Street at 6:45 p.m.

Officers seized 3.5 pounds of marijuana, 12 rocks of crack cocaine, a bag of magic mushrooms (psilocybin), $3,000 cash, a pair of brass knuckles and a martial arts weapon - a tiger claw blade.

The Abbotsford News has learned the suspect is Russell Ezra John Wester.

He is brother to Nicholas "Nick" Wester and Dustin Lee Wester. Nick Wester was arrested Nov. 26 following an elaborate undercover police sting targeting both the UN and Red Scorpions gangs. Dustin Wester, 25, died from gunshot wounds at an Abbotsford gas station after being involved in a violent marijuana grow rip on Townshipline Road in July 2008.

Russell Wester is facing three counts of possession for the purpose of trafficking and two counts of possession of a prohibited weapon.

The apartment in which the suspect was arrested was believed to be a distribution hub for a UN drug line, said MacDonald, who added the arrest was one of consequence.

"We don't think the quantity of drugs is so notable, but this person – because of his interactions with police and because of his connections to the UN gang – makes this arrest significant."

MacDonald said investigators can clearly tie the suspect to the infamous gang.

MacDonald said the most recent arrest follows a series of others targeting both the UN Gang and the Red Scorpions.

"In the last month or so we have arrested in the neighbourhood of 12 to 14 people associated with UN or Red Scorpion drug lines," he said.

At the start of December, police arrested eight suspects, seven men and a woman, believed to be street-level drug dealers with ties to the Red Scorpions who were supplying the downtown core.

The Abbotsford Police arrests follow on the heels of an elaborate sting run by the Coordinated Forces Special Enforcement Unit which saw the arrest of three UN gang members and two Red Scorpions – one of whom was Jarrod Bacon.

The other was Arnold Wayne Scott, the father of Bacon's girlfriend.

Nick Wester was arrested with two other alleged UN gang associates, Daryl Robert Johnson and reputed UN gang leader Douglas Edward Vanalstine. All five men are charged with conspiracy to traffic in a controlled substance and possession for the purpose of trafficking.

Nick Wester has a criminal record in the United States. In November 2000, he was sentenced to 18 months in jail and three years probation in Spokane, Wash., on drug charges.

When arrested, Russell Wester was facing charges of assault causing bodily harm and driving while prohibited. He is expected to appear in court for the new charges next week.

Abbotsford Police is doing its best to make a dent in the local drug trade and fulfill its number-one priority of cracking down on gang crime, said MacDonald.

"Part of our mandate in 2010 was to make Abbotsford a really lousy place to be a gang member or drug dealer. We started that project a little early."