Headlines from the past is a recurring feature looking back at stories we've covered over the past 40+ years.
A fire at a rented home on Coquitlam’s Pipeline Road late in 2003 was likely linked to its use as a marijuana grow-op, said then deputy fire chief Kel Roberts.
The home’s landlord had recently evicted his tenants for evidence of illegal activity.
Roberts said various chemicals for fertilizer as well as electrical transformers were discovered at the home and its hydro meter had been bypassed.
But Coquitlam RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Catherine Galliford said charges were unlikely as most of the evidence had burned in the fire.
Meanwhile, the Port Moody Police Department said it was cranking up its efforts to weed out grow-ops from the city.
Spokesperson Const. Brian Soles said 20 such operations run by Vietnamese organized crime groups had already been busted in Port Moody in 2003.
He said the groups were attracted to brand new upscale homes in the city’s Heritage Mountain neighbourhood because they offered enough privacy and room to grow.
Soles said the grow-ops are an increasing concern in Port Moody because of the criminal byproducts they create such as violent home invasions to steal crops that sometimes target the wrong residences and drive-by shootings.
“It’s insidious,” Soles said, adding suspicious neighbours have been aiding police efforts.
“They don’t want these people in their neighbourhoods.”
The Tri-City News has covered civic affairs, local crime, festivals, events, personalities, sports and arts in Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam and Port Moody since 1983. Bound back issues of the paper are available at the Coquitlam Archives, while digital versions of several past years can be found at issuu.com.
