DRUG LABS A GROWING PROBLEM: CITY POLICE

Two incidents in Nanaimo involving drug labs over five days have police
concerned the dangerous production of drugs like ecstasy and
methamphetamine may be a growing problem in and around the city.

The first incident, said Const. Beth Blackburn, director of drug awareness
for the Nanaimo RCMP, happened Sept. 11 when a police officer pulled over a
rented van going south on Highway 19 between the Jingle Pot and Northfield
Road exits.

The officer noted two 45-gallon drums in the rear of the vehicle and
initially allowed the man to go on his way. Blackburn said the officer was
suspicious, and that after a call to other officers at the detachment a
decision was made to stop the van again.

At that point they called on officers trained in identifying and dealing
with clandestine labs.

"There were all the precursors there for making methamphetamine," said
Blackburn.

Dangerous Chemicals

Clad in hazardous material suits, officers then moved the vehicle to an
isolated area on the old military base off Fifth Street. Arrangements were
then made to properly dispose of the chemicals, which were toxic and
potentially explosive under certain conditions.

"We knew we were dealing with a dangerous situation," said Blackburn.

The investigation led from the driver to another man and both are now
charged. Blackburn said they think the chemicals were being taken from a
dismantled lab on the Island back to the Lower Mainland.

A 25-year-old Vancouver man, Darren Lee Letoureau, the driver, is charged
with production of a controlled substance and possession of a controlled
substance for the purpose of trafficking. Theodore Joseph Bryan Labine, 55,
of New Westminster, faces the same charges.

Labine was released on bail, but Letoureau, who was on parole at the time,
remains in custody.

The other incident came Tuesday, when officers investigated what appeared
to be an abandoned ecstasy lab in an outbuilding in South Wellington.
Again, officers were faced with the high risk of toxic chemicals. Blackburn
said they had to call on Environment branch officials and a doctor with the
Vancouver Island Health Authority to assist.

"The biggest problem was the cleanup," she said.

Blackburn and drug squad investigators can't say if there are other labs in
the area, but they are concerned the two incidents may represent a wider
problem.

"We need to stop this, we can't get to the epidemic stage like it is in the
U.S.," she said. "It's coming and we have to do something before it gets
any worse."