By Kevin Ma
RCMP officers are sorting through piles of drugs and stolen car parts this week after a raid on a suspected chop shop just north of St. Albert.
About 10 officers from the St. Albert detachment and K Division headquarters plus a police dog seized a considerable amount of stolen property and drugs from a rental property at Villeneuve Road and Range Road 255 just north of Deer Ridge last Thursday.
Police got a warrant to investigate this property on June 30, said St. Albert RCMP Cpl. Laurel Kading. They spotted a large number of trailers, vehicles, and car parts on the site (which includes a few buildings and a possible residence), many of which appeared to be stolen. Once they confirmed that some of the items were stolen, they returned on July 7 with a second warrant to seize the goods.
Among the items seized was a John Deere mini excavator, a Dodge pickup truck, construction equipment, multiple trailers, a considerable number of car parts, and a large amount of marijuana, cocaine and methamphetamine.
"Some of the equipment and some of the trailers we definitely know are stolen," Kading said. "The rest we believe to be stolen."
The recovered items have been stored in a secure location. Officers are still determining the value of the seized material and who owns what – a task that will take many hours. They're also looking to determine why the drugs were on the site.
Officers did not encounter any people on the site during their searches.
While the officers she spoke with didn't use the term "chop shop" when talking about this site, Kading said it certainly looked like one.
"It does appear to be a location where stolen items seem to have been dismantled," she said.
Some of the recovered items had dust on them, suggesting that such activities had been going on for a long time.
"This is not a brand new event happening at this property."
While St. Albert has had large drug busts in the past, Kading said this was the first suspected chop shop she had encountered in her seven years in the city.
"For the city of St. Albert, this is unusual."
Police have yet to make any arrests in this case, Kading said. Charges, such as possession of stolen property and illegal drugs, were likely.
Kading asked anyone with information on this property or the items recovered from it to contact the St. Albert RCMP at 780-458-7700 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
Anyone who thinks they might own some of this recovered property should contact the St. Albert detachment with a description and serial number for the stolen goods.
