Officers with the VicPD crime reduction unit continue to sift through thousands of exhibits after one of the largest property seizures in the department's history.
In August, police began investigating a 52-year-old Esquimalt woman known to be an associate of the Norteno's gang. Following a two-month investigation, police searched a home in the 600-block of Admirals Road, where they found and seized thousands of items believed to be obtained through shoplifting, theft from vehicles and break and enters.
Property was not only found inside the home, but also in a shipping container, multiple storage lockers and within three vehicles. A further investigation has now revealed other storage lockers that officers are following up on.
In addition to the stolen goods, police also found four guns, heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine, marijuana, fentanyl pills and $17,445 in cash. The combined value of the drugs is pegged at an estimated $53,000. Investigators also located a secret room that was accessed through a hidden panel in the back of a bedroom closet.
Among the thousands of exhibits, officers were able to locate stolen property from a file in 2004 and a diary from 1939. The daughter of the person who wrote the diary was located in Aldergrove and police have arranged to return it to her.
Lorraine Anderson faces a number of charges including possession of a firearm, possession of a controlled substance for the purpose of trafficking and possession of property obtained by crime.