ROBOT FINDS DOPE AT COURTHOUSE

Court proceedings were briefly interrupted Monday when a suspicious package
was discovered by St. Albert RCMP outside the courthouse.

An officer escorting prisoners to court just after 9:30 a.m. noticed a
suspicious package taped to the outside wall of the courthouse beside the
entrance to the prisoners' cell block.

When courthouse maintenance workers could not identify the plastic-wrapped
package, the Explosive Disposal Unit (EDU) from RCMP "K" Division was
called in.

"Maintenance didn't know what the package was and it was not in a place
where a package should be," said Staff Sgt. Terry Renner of the St. Albert
RCMP. "At no point did we think it was a bomb."

Further analysis of the package by a robot belonging to the EDU determined
its contents not to be explosive. The package, in fact, contained 28 grams
of ground-up marijuana, said Cpl. Don Brown.

"We have no idea why it was put there or who put it there," said Brown.

No threat of any kind was received by the police or staff at the
courthouse, he said.

Five RCMP vehicles blocked off the parking lot of the courthouse for
approximately two hours as members of the EDU guided a remote controlled
robot into the entrance area to examine the package. Using a camera mounted
on the robot, crews directed the robot to remove the package from the wall
and placed it on the ground. A portable X-ray machine was then attached to
the robot to determine the contents of the package.

"Even if it was a bomb, the package is so small, all it would have done was
blown a couple of bricks off the building," said Renner. "We're just taking
precautions at this point."

Even though police never believed the package posed a danger to the public,
EDU officers were cautious.

"Better the robot goes in there than one of us," said Renner. "This also
gives the crews a good chance to practise and make sure the equipment
really works as it should."

The RCMP will now try to determine where the marijuana came from and why it
was left at the courthouse.

"Investigators will be following up on several opportunities to determine
the package's origin," said Renner. "Was it dropped there to throw us off
or was it a prank? We have no idea what the motivation for leaving this
package at the courthouse is."