POLICE KEEP DRUG HOUSE UNDER WATCH

Another person may be charged after a heavily armed meth lab was found
earlier this month.

Langley RCMP will be closely watching a house where drugs, guns and
stolen property were found earlier this month, but few charges have
been laid.

"There weren't as many charges as in a perfect world we would have
liked to have pursued," said Insp. Richard Konarski of the Langley
RCMP detachment.

On Oct. 16, police following a suspected car thief arrived at the
south Brookswood home. Searches uncovered methamphetamine being made
on a stove, rifles, pistols, a machine pistol, and a sawed off
shotgun, and stolen vehicles. One man, who was tailed to the home in a
stolen car, has already been charged with possession of stolen property.

Another individual arrested that day was found holding a
recently-stolen ring, Konarski said. The police plan on pursuing
charges against that person as well.

Neither of the people facing charges lived at the site, however. Six
people were arrested, including occupants, and most have been released
without charges.

Konarski said officers acted to ensure they were safe when they
arrived at the home during the stolen car investigation. That meant
entering the property without a search warrant.

That entry led to the discovery of the drugs and guns.

But without a search warrant, the evidence found would not hold up in
court, under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Konarski said.

While the residents of the drug house have returned home, Konarski
said, both the RCMP and the neighbours will be watching the home very
closely in the future.

"Not only do the police know about it, the community knows about it,"
said Konarski.