Close X
Tuesday, November 12, 2024
ADVT 
National

Vancouver magic mushroom stores raided by police are reopening

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 02 Nov, 2023 04:39 PM
  • Vancouver magic mushroom stores raided by police are reopening

One of three magic mushroom stores that were raided by Vancouver police this week has already reopened, and the owner says his other two are restocking and will be back in business on Friday.

The Vancouver Police Department says it executed search warrants at the stores on Wednesday in an investigation into the sale of illegal psychedelic drugs, with officers seizing "a variety of controlled substances."

The stores owned by Dana Larsen are located on East Hastings Street, West Broadway Avenue, and Granville Street.

Larsen says the East Hastings store has already opened, with the other two to follow, and he'll "try to be better prepared" if police visit again.

Larsen says Wednesday's raids were unexpected, and he was held by police for seven hours before being released with no charges and no conditions. 

A storefront poster Larsen shared on social media says police seized all the stores' mushrooms, LSD, coca leaf, other drugs and money. 

He said thousands in cash and drugs worth tens of thousands of dollars were seized.

"People go through a lot worse things, but it's no fun sitting in a jail cell for seven hours. It's no fun that all of your products are taken," he said.

"Our staff are very upset, some of them are quite worried about their future and their job and whether they want to keep working here."

Larsen said his stores have business licenses from the city, with the annual license for the East Hastings outlet renewed three times.  

He said he is now in the process of renewing the license for the West Broadway location and a public hearing is scheduled for Dec. 6. 

"The city councillors have the power to let us keep our license. They can add conditions, or they can take it away," said Larsen. 

Larsen said police should let politicians make a decision about the fate of the psychedelics business before raiding his stores.

The VPD said in a news release Wednesday that police will consider whether to recommend charges to Crown prosecutors once the investigation concludes. 

“We have been clear that anyone who breaks the law by illegally trafficking controlled drugs and substances could be arrested and charged with a criminal offence,” Sergeant Steve Addison said in the release.

“This includes people who traffic drugs for profit from unlicensed and illegal retail businesses.”

 

MORE National ARTICLES

IHIT officer testifies to executing DNA warrant of man accused in B.C. murder trial

IHIT officer testifies to executing DNA warrant of man accused in B.C. murder trial
Sgt-Maj. Heather Lew told a B.C. Supreme Court murder trial that she collected a few drops of blood from Ibrahim Ali's finger on Sept. 9, 2018, two days after his arrest and almost 14 months after the girl's body was found. Ali has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in the death of the teen.

IHIT officer testifies to executing DNA warrant of man accused in B.C. murder trial

Hamas's attack on Israel: Two victims with Canadian ties laid to rest

Hamas's attack on Israel: Two victims with Canadian ties laid to rest
Two victims with ties to Canada who were killed in Hamas's attacks on Israel were remembered fondly by relatives on Wednesday, who called for the world to recognize the brutality of what happened. Tiferet Lapidot, 22, was formally identified by authorities on Monday, more than a week after she died at a music festival near the Gaza Strip border, where Hamas's attack began on Oct. 7. Her family had thought she was among those being held hostage.

Hamas's attack on Israel: Two victims with Canadian ties laid to rest

Burnaby homes gutted by fire

Burnaby homes gutted by fire
Four unoccupied homes have been badly damaged after an early morning fire in Burnaby.  Fire officials say that the homes were slated for demolition. Summers says they needed 42 firefighters and 11 trucks to knock down the blaze.

Burnaby homes gutted by fire

B.C. man, Mukhtiar Singh Panghali, who killed his pregnant wife in 2006 is granted full parole

B.C. man, Mukhtiar Singh Panghali, who killed his pregnant wife in 2006 is granted full parole
A British Columbia man who killed his pregnant wife and burned her body in 2006 has been granted full parole. Mukhtiar Singh Panghali, who's now 51 years old, was given a life sentence in 2011 for second-degree murder in the death of Manjit Panghali.

B.C. man, Mukhtiar Singh Panghali, who killed his pregnant wife in 2006 is granted full parole

RCMP say 12-year-old killed while biking to school in Pitt Meadows

RCMP say 12-year-old killed while biking to school in Pitt Meadows
Police in Metro Vancouver say a 12-year-old was hit and killed by a recycling truck while biking to school this week. The RCMP say they're investigating the collision that occurred at an intersection in Pitt Meadows, B.C., around 8:30 a.m. Tuesday. They say paramedics and Pitt Meadows firefighters tried to save the child's life, but the young victim was pronounced dead at the scene. 

RCMP say 12-year-old killed while biking to school in Pitt Meadows

First atmospheric river of fall deluges parts of B.C. south coast, southern Interior

First atmospheric river of fall deluges parts of B.C. south coast, southern Interior
Rainfall warnings cover most of Vancouver Island, as well as the Sunshine Coast, Howe Sound, Whistler and Metro Vancouver as Environment Canada pinpoints a firehose-like band pumping moisture from the subtropics directly at the B.C. coast. More than 200 millimetres of rain could fall along sections of western Vancouver Island, while 80 to 110 millimetres are forecast across the Howe Sound, Whistler and Sea-to-Sky regions before the storm is expected to ease late in the day.

First atmospheric river of fall deluges parts of B.C. south coast, southern Interior