Vancouver police detonate suspicious device, arrest man
Posted April 29, 2020 12:07 pm.
Last Updated April 29, 2020 12:22 pm.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) — Vancouver police detonated a suspected improvised explosive device Tuesday and arrested a Surrey man.
Officers initially spotted what appeared to be fentanyl inside a car after conducting a traffic stop near Columbia and East Pender streets. While searching the vehicle, they located a suspected improvised explosive device.
Specialists with the police department’s emergency response section were called and worked to safely dispose of the device. They secured the area to protect the public, then used various tools, including a specialized robot to properly disable and dispose of the device.
Vancouver Police detonated a suspected improvised explosive device near Columbia & East Pender last (TUE) night. @VancouverPD officer spotted fentanyl in car pulled over…that's when device was seen. 25 year old man from #SurreyBC arrested and released – no charges.
— Bruce Claggett (@BruceClaggett) April 29, 2020
“This was excellent work by our front-line patrol officers to identify a dangerous situation and safely secure the area,” Sgt. Aaron Roed says in a release. “Their actions, along with the response from our highly-trained emergency response section members, ensured no one was injured and the device was destroyed.”
He adds the call took officers several hours to detonate the device.
“They were able to use specialized tools, like a robot, that limit risk to our members in situations like this.”
A 25-year-old Surrey resident was arrested for unauthorized possession of an explosive device and taken to jail. He has been released, police say, with no charges at this time.
The investigation is ongoing.