CANADIAN PRESS
MONTREAL — Police said today they will look for links to organized crime after finding a large stash of weapons and explosives in a minivan.
It's unlikely to be the work of teenage gang members, said Const. Lynne Labelle, a Montreal police spokeswoman.
"I believe it's too big to be related to street gangs," Labelle said of the seizure.
Officers seized 17 firearms, including submachine-guns, handguns and rifles, on Tuesday. They also found between 90 and 135 kilograms of explosives.
No arrests have been made and police aren't sure how many suspects are involved and if they have left the country, Labelle said. Officers will need to find out who rented the vehicle.
"There are no clues that are leading us to believe it's linked to terrorism," Labelle added.
The seizure tied up traffic through downtown streets for several hours.
Police sent in a robot to examine several pieces of luggage after tactical team members in full protective gear investigated the vehicle.
Const. Miguel Alston has said it was one of the city's largest busts.
"The only good news is that the explosives and the detonators were not connected so it could not explode," he said.
Police were warned about the vehicle carrying commercial Quebec licence plates from a source but didn't receive a call through 911.
The incident took place in front of a building along Rene-Levesque Boulevard that houses the consulates of Costa Rica and Panama. But police don't believe they were targets.
The building was evacuated as a precaution, forcing about 300 people from offices.
Police cordoned off several streets, causing traffic to back up along a nearby highway. Some of the streets remained closed into the early morning as investigators worked on the scene.
