Olympic rings ecstasy bust in Vancouver
Last Updated: Thursday, December 10, 2009 | 5:17 PM PT
CBC News
Vancouver police say they stumbled on these ecstasy pills while investigating a report of a home invasion. (Vancouver Police Department) Police answering a 911 call about a home invasion in East Vancouver Wednesday found no break-in suspects when they arrived but did discover 107,000 ecstasy tablets, some imprinted with the Olympic rings symbol.
The officers arrived to find the front door of the home kicked in, and during a search for possible victims saw what appeared to be illicit drugs, Vancouver police Insp. Brad Desmarais said at a news conference Thursday.
"The officer saw large bags of multi-coloured pills in plain view, which the officer believed to be consistent with ecstasy," Desmarais said.
Some of the tablets were stamped with peace signs and some with the Olympic rings.
Vancouver's Olympic organizing committee has vigorously pursued unlicensed use of the Olympic rings symbol in the past and a spokesman said it was aware of the Vancouver police seizure.
"This illustrates that there are and will be unscrupulous uses of the Olympic marks," said Bill Cooper, VANOC's director of commercial rights management. "Like the Vancouver police, we will continue to be diligent in our surveillance and rigorous followup."
Demarais said police secured the location and obtained a search warrant. Six ounces of powdered cocaine were also found in a subsequent search.
Some of the ecstasy pill seized in Vancouver were imprinted with peace signs or the Olympic rings. (Vancouver Police Department) Police estimated the value of all the drugs at more than $1 million.
"This is one of the top-five largest seizures in Vancouver," said Desmarais.
Two men believed to be occupants of the home were arrested, and charges are pending.
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