NO SUSPECTS IN DRUG LAB BUST

The tenants believed responsible for setting up one of the largest illegal
drug labs ever discovered in B.C. used false identities to foil reference
checks by building management in order to secure their suites.

The Review has learned the suspects had a seemingly legitimate set of
references when they applied for the two suites last month, even down to
the assumed person's bank account numbers, said Ed Tokarcyzk, property
manger for the Heather Lee apartment block at 8540 Westminster Hwy.

"Everything seemed to be okay. They paid the first and last month's rent,
and damage deposit like all the other tenants. So, this came as quite a
shock to us all," he said. "

Police discovered the drug lab June 14 after a neighbour below two third
floor suites noticed water leaking from the apartments above.

When the apartment was opened, a large ecstasy lab was found.

Due to the elaborate identity cover up, Richmond RCMP have not been able to
find any concrete leads in the case and are still looking for suspects.

Despite the operation's size and potential to produce $250,000 to $500,000
worth of ecstasy, police officials do not suspect organized crime was
involved with the lab found in the apartments last Wednesday.

"They would have had to invest quite a bit of time and money to set up a
lab of this size, but there's no reason to believe, at least at this time,
any involvement with organized crime," said RCMP Const. Peter Thiessen,
spokesman for the mRichmond RCMP.

Residents who had been evacuated from their homes last week were allowed
mback into their suites the day after police discovered the lab..

Property manager Tokarcyzk said cleaning crews have nearly finished their
mwork to bring the suites back to acceptable standards.

"We had to have the carpet removed and taken away by a professional
hazardous waste company, it was so soiled with chemicals. We were told that
it will have to be disposed of somewhere in Alberta."

When the lab was discovered, Police and Health Canada officials removed
around 20 to 30 plastic and metal drums from the apartments, some marked
Methylene Chloride, an organic solvent.

In contrast to earlier reports, Tokarcyzk said the tenants did not punch
holes through the apartments' adjoining walls to connect the drug lab's
chemistry equipment between the two suites.

"All they did was remove part of the dividing wall, rather neatly in fact,
from the balcony to join up their equipment."

As a result of the incident, the building management has devised a new and
improved set of reference checks to prevent a similar occurrence.