Dynamite unit in highrise 'like a gas station but for drugs'
A unit in a Metrotown-area highrise evacuated last week after dynamite was discovered was a loading station for the drug trade, say Burnaby RCMP.
"It was like a little gas station but for drugs," said Burnaby RCMP Cpl. Dave Reid.
Someone doing upgrades in an 11th floor suite at 4266 Grange St. on Feb. 18 saw white powder which he believed to be drugs, and reported it to the building manager, who called police.
When Burnaby RCMP executed a search warrant on the unit, they found a duffle bag with what appeared to be dynamite inside. The building was evacuated that evening for several hours until the bomb squad removed the 10 sticks of dynamite as well as some modified carbon dioxide canisters and destroyed them a safe distance away.
Police also seized two kilograms of cocaine, several guns and cash from the suite.
Burnaby RCMP are still searching for the person who rented the apartment who is now confirmed to have gang ties, said Reid. As well, "he was associated to a murder file only in that he was an occupant of a vehicle in which the victim was shot and killed."
The apartment's lack of furniture raised police eyebrows.
Reid said there were no kitchen utensils or dishes and there was no bed or other furniture apart from a television and a couple of chairs.
That's led police to believe the unit was being used as a "loading station" where people drop off or pick up drugs, he said.
When found, the tenant faces charges related to drug trafficking, illegal weapons and possession and unsafe storage of an explosive device.
wchow@burnabynewsleader.com
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