VANCOUVER — A traffic stop by Vancouver police led to a device being detonated by the bomb squad on Tuesday.
The incident began when a suspect was pulled over in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside and officers noticed what appeared to be fentanyl in his car.
During their search, police say a suspected improvised explosive device was found in the vehicle.
Sgt. Aaron Roed says investigators don't believe the device was being used to target any groups or buildings, but he couldn't comment on why the suspect had the device.
Video released by police on Wednesday shows a robot operated by the department's emergency response team detonating the device.
A 25-year-old Surrey man was arrested for unauthorized possession of an explosive device but has since been released without charges as police continue their investigation.
Roed wouldn't speculate on the damage the explosive device could have caused, but he said it didn't cause a large explosion when it was detonated.
"If it was to be done without the use of our robot and our emergency response team members blowing it up, we're unsure of how much of an impact it would have had," he told a news conference on Wednesday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 29, 2020.
The Canadian Press
