NEW: Five charged for massive drug lab

Five people are facing a slew of drug-related charges after they appeared in Richmond provincial court Monday afternoon in connection with Friday's bust of a massive drug lab in East Richmond.

The Richmond Review has learned that one of the people charged—34-year-old Robert Rahn—rented a house and barn on River Road in order to run his concrete business, Vantage Concrete.

Also charged were Sylvette Genevieve Rahn, 33, Richard John Suzick, 28, Miranda Suzick, 29, and John Robert Rahberger, 44.

All remain in custody and are next scheduled to appear in Richmond court on June 26 for a bail hearing.

They are facing a number of charges, including production of a controlled substance (ecstasy) and possession of marijuana for the purpose of trafficking.

Meanwhile, the owner of the River Road property that's been scoured by police since Friday said he's absolutely shocked by the discovery of a massive drug lab in his rental home.

Lucky Janda told The Richmond Review late Friday afternoon that he'd only just heard about the bust.

"I just saw it on the news."

Federal Mounties seized numerous firearms and explosives, and arrested four people in what's suspected to be an organized crime drug lab in a house and barn on an isolated stretch of River Road in the East Richmond community of Hamilton.

On Friday morning, around 7 a.m., the RCMP's Federal Drug Enforcement Branch executed a search warrant at 21880 River Rd. Property tax records indicate the River Road property is owned by Two Jat Holdings Ltd., a company listing a $1.7 million Blundell Road address that is owned by Kiranjeet K. Janda.

Janda said he's been renting out the property to a man who operates his own cement contracting business.

The River Road house is just one of several properties he owns, and he said it's been checked a couple of times over the past six months.

There's been no evidence of any criminal activity, he said.

Parked in front of the home are bobcats, excavators and cement mixers and he's got six or seven employees, Janda said.

He called the couple who live there clean-cut, and said he invites the pair into his home whenever they drop off their rent.

What police say they found was anything but scrupulous.

Inside the River Road home, investigators found what they believe is a "substantial sized synthetic drug operation," Richmond RCMP Cpl. Nycki Basra said.

Basra said a house and barn on the property are being searched, and that the size and sophistication of the lab suggest the involvement of organized crime, though that hasn't been confirmed.

This bust is one of the largest in the city's history, and is expected to result in the seizure of a large quantity of finished product which is suspected to be ecstasy—though lab tests have yet to confirm the drug's identity.

A mile-long stretch of River Road remains cordonned off east of No. 8 Rd., and police said it could take several days for them to process what they've found.

No homes have been evacuated, and area residents are being permitted back into their homes.

Investigators spent seven months on this case.

The situation isn't considered a public safety hazard because of the large perimeter around the home, which sits in a sparsely inhabited rural area, but police are urging the public to stay away.

Basra said more arrests are anticipated, and other search warrants could be executed.

The four arrested people are in custody, and police aren't releasing their names.

For more on this developing story, check back here for updates.