After receiving a tip from the public, the General Investigations Section of the Ministry of Community Safety began an investigation In March 2022, in Maidstone regarding suspected trafficking of bear gall bladders. The investigation then expanded into BC where a second suspect was identified.

Weol Ran Lee of Maidstone pleaded guilty in Lloydminster Provincial Court last month to trafficking in wildlife, including black bear paws and gall bladders. She received a $7,000 fine and a five-year hunting suspension.

Lee also pleaded guilty to unlawfully transporting wildlife parts between provinces after purchasing bear paws illegally in Saskatchewan and taking them into Alberta. For this offence, she was fined $5,000, prohibited from possessing bear parts for five years, and had any money seized in connection with the offence.

Earlier this year, in August the second suspect who investigators say was related to Lee, pleaded guilty in British Columbia, to unlawful possession and wildlife trafficking involving bear parts and was fined $9,875.