Drug lab causes condo
evacuation
On Saturday 27 October 2012, just after 3:00 pm, the residents living
on the seven top floors of the condo at 4091 Sheppard Avenue East were
evacuated by Toronto Police when the building superintendent found a
drug lab in a unit on the 18th floor. The police were concerned that
the chemicals might explode.
Earlier that day, the superintendent received a phone call
from a
resident on the 16th floor directly underneath this unit. She was
complaining about a water leak coming from her ceiling. A check in the
17th floor apartment showed that it was not causing the leak
so the superintendent went up to the 18th floor unit. After
calling for
the security guard to witness the entry, the superintendent
opened the door and saw the chemical-making
lab. The police were
immediately called.
The residents were not allowed back into their homes until Sunday
morning about 20 hours later.
No one was arrested in the rented unit.
Four months and four kilometres away, the police shutdown two drug labs
in the condo at 190 Borough Drive.
These problems can happen in any condominium. New condos are just as
likely to be hit with bad renters as the older ones.
Who
pays?
It cost approximately $200,000 for the specialists to clean the
apartment. The other costs incurred by government agencies, the condo
corporation and the owners, including putting the residents up in a
local hotel, came to another $200,000. (The owners who checked into the
hotel will have to reimburse the government.)
The unit owner, who is living overseas, will be held responsible to pay
the insurance deductables. The owner could try to sue their tenant to
cover the
costs but I doubt that will work.
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