Ridge Meadows RCMP have busted a drug lab in Maple Ridge.
Police responded to a man screaming and in distress on Dec. 1 at around 4:15 p.m. in the 13400-block of 236th Street.
When the RCMP arrived, they discovered a drug lab. They then secured the property and obtained a search warrant.
The RCMP’s clandestine drug team was called to assist and a search revealed evidence consistent with the extraction of the chemical compound tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the pharmacological active ingredient in marijuana.
Craig Malec, who lives in the neighbourhood, saw three to four police cars and a fire truck outside a two-storey. single-family home between Rock Ridge Drive and Larch Avenue on the east side of 236th St.
“They had the road blocked off and it was kind of congested with emergency vehicles,” said Malec.
Some officers were wearing masks over their mouths, said Malec, who also saw a bio-hazard clean-up crew on site.
“The tape was around the house. [Police] were coming and going from the house. They had the garage kind of propped open a little bit. You couldn’t really see in,” Malec said.
Police were still on scene Sunday morning, he added.
RCMP would not say if the homeowners were in the house at the time of the bust or how many people were there, only that such information will be part of the evidence presented in court.
Police did say that there were no arrests and no injuries to anyone, although it remains unclear why the initial man was screaming and in distress.
RCMP said there was no risk to the public.
The investigation is ongoing.