Hamilton drug lab clean-up to take days

Dozens of RCMP and Hamilton police officers have been working carefully, taking apart a sophisticated drug lab in the city’s east end. They say it’ll be days before they finish removing chemicals and equipment from the home on Cannon Street East.

They’ve been here now for two days and are still working very methodically. It’ll be several more days because they’ll have this lab cleared out.

Police have been pulling out propane tanks and dangerous chemicals. This home is about a block west of Tim Hortons Field.

Neighbours say they’re shocked. Police say this is a large drug lab with the purpose of making a lot of cash. More than one drug was being produced, possibly even the highly volatile methamphetamines.

Propane tanks, jugs of chemicals and dozens of buckets full of hazardous materials. These are just some of the things officers are pulling out of this drug lab.

RCMP and Hamilton police officers, who had been watching the house for a while, busted this major drug lab on Monday.

RCMP Sgt. Brent Hill: “In terms of production, I would put this certainly on the top shelf.”

Since then, officers in protective gear have been clearing it out.

Hill: “We suspect more than one drug looking at multiple recipes, maybe meth.”

All of these chemicals that have been pulled out of the house are toxic and explosive. They’ll need to be analyzed by experts from Health Hanada and the RCMP before they know exactly what they’re dealing with. Officers had concerns for their own safety and those who live near here you can see just how close these houses are together.

Police say no one was living there. The entire house was being used to make drugs.

Hill: “I’ll call it more of a factory. And in that factory, every level is being used for production of controlled substances from the basement to the attic.”

As well as this garage, that was recently built.

One man has been arrested. Neighbours say he moved into the house about three months ago and they thought he was just fixing it up.

Tod LaFlamme is a neighbour: “I am baffled. I have no idea. We never see anything. He was older. He seemed quiet. He never really talked to many people. He seemed like a normal guy. I thought actually he was fixing the place up.”

And neighbours say they can’t believe what police are pulling out of there.

LaFlamme: “Can you imagine if one of those went. If anything in there blew and all those propane tanks, this entire block would be levelled.”

Traffic on Cannon Street East at Barnesdale is down to one lane. It could take them 3 or 4 days to clear everything out of here.

Police have arrested one man but won’t release any details about him nor will they say if they are looking for anyone else. They say they are still investigating and this is part of a larger investigation. They expect to release more information in the next day or so.