Drugs worth millions seized at condo: police
Pricey Vancouver discovery comes after calls from neighbours about disturbance
VANCOUVER Drugs worth several million dollars on the street were seized by Vancouver police from a suite in one of the city’s tony downtown condo towers.
Early Saturday, neighbours in the Telus Garden residential tower were disturbed by sounds and water coming from a suite at 777 Richards St.
Sgt. Aaron Roed, media relations officer for the Vancouver police, said Wednesday that paramedics and police responded to check on the well-being of the occupants after receiving a 911 call at 4:27 a.m.
“Two males were located inside with medical distress and were treated by paramedics at the scene,” he said at a news conference Wednesday. “They did require further medical treatment and were transported to a local area hospital.”
He said when police arrived they noticed a large amount of cash, as well as what appeared to be illegal narcotics around the suite. Police obtained a search warrant and found multiple bricks of suspected cocaine, $200,000 in cash, about three gallons of an unknown liquid and several ounces of a substance believed to be MDMA, also known as ecstasy.
“The estimated street value is into the several-millions-of-dollars,” Roed said.
The suspected cocaine and other drugs have been sent to a lab for testing. Once that occurs, police anticipate charges including possession for the purpose of trafficking. Roed said neither the drugs nor the cash were put on display to ensure nothing jeopardizes charges being presented to Crown counsel.
He said the two men in their 30s who were arrested and released are “known to police.” One is from Vancouver and the other is from Vancouver Island.
No names were released. He said one of the two men was renting the unit. Police didn’t release the suite number.
Roed said the two men were in distress but he couldn’t confirm if that meant a drug overdose.
“This isn’t a surprise to us,” he said about the drug seizure. “This happens in every city across the county. This isn’t specific to Vancouver.”
The police seizure took place in the 53-floor residential tower that is part of Telus Garden, a $750-million development designed by Henriquez Partners Architects. One of the penthouses in the building is currently listed for sale at $12.8 million.
Sarah Lutz, property manager for the tower, said she wouldn’t comment about what happened early Saturday.