The Vancouver Sun
17 September 2005
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RCMP raid second home ecstasy lab
RICHMOND - Another clandestine drug lab used to produce the illegal drug ecstasy was closed down by police Friday after they raided a second Richmond residence owned by realtor Alfred Luk.
The sophisticated labs are clearly linked to an Asian organized crime group, said RCMP Sgt. Dave Goddard of the Vancouver Drug Section.
"There has to be an organization or a network of people doing this," he said. "You can't put this together by yourself."
The Friday raid on the house at 5111 Steveston Hwy. was carried out by members of the Richmond RCMP and the Waterfront Joint Forces Operation.
The home was primarily used to produce ecstasy because it did not appear to be lived in, police said.
Health Canada officials initially entered the Steveston residence to assess the potential dangers of toxic chemicals found in the illegal drug lab so investigators could begin removing chemicals from the crime scene.
Police seized a "significant" quantity of chemicals, including sodium borohydride, from the home, which they said is owned by Luk, who worked as a realtor at the Sutton-Seafair Realty office in Richmond before his arrest a day earlier.
On Thursday, police seized 200 kilograms of liquid ecstasy from another Richmond home at 6651 No. 5 Rd. That house was also owned by Luk, whose photograph appeared on a large realty "sold" sign at the front of the home.
Luk could not initially be located by police but turned himself in at the Richmond RCMP detachment at 5:30 p.m. Thursday. Four other suspects were arrested earlier.
Police arrested a sixth man Friday after executing another search warrant at a Burnaby residence. Police believe the latest suspect in custody is the person who illegally imported a 600-kilogram shipment of sodium borohydride, a chemical used to manufacture ecstasy.
The chemical had been shipped to a Richmond residence from Shanghai, China. Police estimated the chemical shipment could have produced 15 million of ecstasy pills worth more than $300 million on the street. The majority of the chemical was seized at a Richmond warehouse.
The liquid ecstasy found in the first seizure was enough to make $15 million worth of ecstasy pills, police said.
Luk's website (luckyestate.com) says he previously worked as a computer programmer for the B.C. Central Credit Union and CN Rail.
The website says he previously attended Simon Fraser University, the B.C. Institute of Technology, Concordia University and the University of Toronto, where he received a Bachelor of Science degree.
RCMP Supt. Ward Clapham, the officer in charge of the Richmond detachment, said earlier that he's glad to see drug labs being shut down because ecstasy is a dangerous drug with the potential to kill young people.
Last week, a 13-year-old girl from a Victoria suburb died from a drug overdose after taking what she thought was ecstasy. In fact, it is believed she ingested a form of crystal methamphetamine.
The RCMP credited other agencies involved in the Richmond investigation, including the RCMP Border Integrity Unit, which led the investigation, and Transport Canada, which initially notified police of the shipment, as well as the Canada Border Services Agency, Vancouver police, Delta police, the Richmond fire department and the B.C. Ambulance service.
Luk was charged Friday under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act with the unlawful production of ecstasy.
Also charged are Patrick Dan Chang, Tik Shwn Ngai, Ka Wan Chan and Kai Ming Fung. The latter two are Chinese nationals from Hong Kong, while Chang and Ngai are from Vancouver.
They are charged with a variety of drug offences and are scheduled to appear in Richmond provincial court Monday. More charges are pending, police said.
All five men remained in custody Friday.