Alberta town councillor resigns after being charged in crack cocaine investigation

An Alberta town councillor has resigned from politics after being embroiled in a crack cocaine scandal.

Wayne Niblow, one of five members of the council of Irricana, Alta, resigned after being arrested and charged with trafficking drugs.

Medicine Hat police note that on May 25, Niblow was arrested with 107 grams of crack cocaine.

"Wayne Niblow, a 36-year-old Irricana resident, is charged with possession for the purpose of trafficking," according to a news release.

He was charged with two other men as part of the investigation. In total, police seized 149 grams of crack cocaine, worth an estimated $15,000.

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Following the arrest, the Town of Irricana announced his resignation. "Mr. Niblow tendered his resignation on June 14 citing personal reasons for his decision," the announcement read.

Niblow will not be replaced until the town's next general election in four months. He told the Calgary Sun that he stepped down to save the town bad publicity.

This incident comes as crack cocaine makes headlines in Canada's municipal politics.

The news groups have reported watching a video of Toronto Mayor Rob Ford smoking from a crack pipe and the fallout from that has boiled over the past three weeks.

Ford says he does not smoke crack and that a video does not exist.

Many details from the scandal, including addresses and locations, were echoed in a massive drug bust in Toronto's Etobicoke suburbs, where the video was alleged to have been recorded and stored.

News reports also cite high-level sources that confirm discussions of the Ford video were caught on wiretaps used in the year-long investigation.