Police discovered a pile of weapons and a dope-growing operation when they responded to a call about screams coming from a home in north Maple Ridge, just before 4:30 p.m., Monday.
After getting a warrant later that night, police searched the property and found more than 60 firearms, including shotguns, rifles and handguns at the home at 22510 – 136th Ave. In addition, police removed 800 marijuana plants in various stages of growth, as well as dried marijuana and hashish.
Added to the arsenal found inside were “some other significant weaponry,” namely explosives, said a Ridge Meadows RCMP spokesman.
“It’s alarming, to say the least.”
A chemical operation found on site was apparently being used to make hash oil, while other hazardous chemicals were found and disposed of by the RCMP’s clandestine lab team.
However, there was no meth lab on the property.
Three men, ages 56, 53, and 49, were arrested, but have since been released pending a court appearance.
The RCMP Explosives Disposal Unit, the RCMP’s National Weapons Enforcement Support Team, B.C. Hydro, and Maple Ridge By-Laws Enforcement Officers also assisted the investigation.
Meanwhile, police also searched a suspected grow-op in a home in the 12400-block of Blue Mountain Crescent in east Maple Ridge.
Police were on scene there, with weapons drawn, from about 2:30 p.m. to past 6 p.m., said a neighbour. It’s about the third such operation in the area in the last few years, she said.
