A Nanaimo man faces 15 counts of weapons and drug charges after an arrest last month.

According to a Nanaimo RCMP press release Thursday, July 4, an officer with the detachment's special investigations/targeted enforcement unit saw a suspect, who was known to be prohibited from driving, park a pickup truck and get out of the vehicle on June 13.

The officer arrested the suspect for breaching bail conditions and a pat-down search turned up a bottle of pills the officer believed were illicit prescription drugs.

"From a visual scan of the front and back seats of the vehicle, the officer could clearly see bottles of drugs in the truck," noted the release.

A more thorough search of the vehicle turned up a loaded shotgun, a replica gun and several ounces of fentanyl, as well as prescription opiates and thousands of dollars in cash.

A 44-year-old from Nanaimo faces charges that include possession of a firearm contrary to his probation order, careless storage of a firearm, failure to comply with his probation order, and five counts of trafficking.