HOMEOWNER TO BE BILLED FOR BUST

A meth lab inside a Lougheed Highway home end up costing the property
owner thousands.

Head of the Ridge Meadows RCMP drug section Cpl. John MacDougall said
cost of the HAZMAT crew alone could cost the property owner upwards of
$20,000. Because of the home's proximity to the highway, three
chemists were brought in. MacDougall said one chemist would have been
sufficient if the property were secluded and traffic wouldn't be
impeded by a lengthy search.

But these costs don't include the potential cost of the environmental
impacts on the property, which sits dangerously close to Kanaka Creek.

"I'm still waiting for Environment Canada to do their thing,"
MacDougall said.

"I've got a funny feeling they may have dumped some of the waste on
the property," he added, saying that he's currently following up with
the property owner who could face "a considerable bill."

The bust took place on Thursday morning and the Lougheed Highway was
closed off to traffic from 105 Avenue to Tamarack Crescent for several
hours.

MacDougall said he has been keeping watch on the property since
January after an informant brought news that this could be a lab.

Once inside, he said, officers found "a fairly large scale" lab. Not
the province's largest, he said, but not far short.

"They called it a dirty lab. They didn't keep up on the cleanliness
. You know regular users of these narcotics are possibly getting
contaminated narcotics."

As well as the products used to manufacture crystal methamphetamine,
chemists came across material to make ecstasy.

The lab, said MacDougall, proved a challenge to dismantle, both
because of where it was located and also because of the severe heat.

HAZMAT crews, dressed in their white plastic suits were succumbing to
the temperature, he said.

"They were only in there 20 minutes and we had one of the chemist
lady's blood pressure went up so high she had to spend the rest of the
day sitting in the shade."

MacDougall added that he probably could have gotten into the house and
made the discovery sooner were it not for a lack of manpower. As it
was, RCMP members from across the Lower Mainland participated in the
takedown, as did fire and ambulance crews who remained on site because
of the volatility of the chemicals found.

And as for laying charges, MacDougall said he's "pretty sure" he could
lay the proper charges on the proper person.

All he has left to do is track that person down.