HAZARDOUS MATERIAL FOUND NEAR SCHOOL

A lab manufacturing crystal methamphetamine may have been the source
of a hazardous substance found near Panorama Heights Elementary
Wednesday night.

Someone walking near the elementary school around 8:40 p.m. spotted a
number of sealed plastic bags along a hill just off Robson Drive,
near Johnson Street, and called police.

A Coquitlam RCMP member went to take a look and found bags containing
an unknown substance. The officer left the bags, contained the area
and called in police dogs trained in identifying drugs.

Const. Dave Babineau said a dog checked out the bags and confirmed
that what was inside was not a drug.

The next step was to call Coquitlam Fire Rescue to have its hazardous
materials specialists take a look.

Firefighters arrived at about 9:25 p.m. and the hazmat specialists
decided to call a contractor, Quantum Environmental Group, to dispose
of the bags.

Assistant fire Chief Kelly Barber said further testing has to be
done, but, "There's a possibility the bags and their contents were
related to a drug lab."

Inside 10 to 12 vacuum-sealed bags was what Babineau described as a
brownish-white crystalline substance.

Firefighters were on scene for two hours dealing with the incident.

"It's kind of an odd thing that it would be found out there,"
Babineau said. "It was a good thing that it was found ... you never
know what you could run into."