A Surrey man has been charged with breaching his probation after police found a pipe bomb and live ammunition in the room where he had recently been evicted.
A search warrant obtained by the Surrey Now-Leader outlines how police were initially called to a Newton home to perform a wellness check on the landlord.
None of the allegations in the search warrant have yet been proven in court.
According to the warrant, on May 29, 2025, a pharmacist had requested that police check on one of his patients. He had spoken to his patient over the phone, and she had told him that one of her tenants had just been evicted for allegedly having an inappropriate relationship with a 14-year-old who was a friend of one of the other tenants.
The pharmacist was not able to see his client that day and was concerned, so he called the police to request a wellness check. The woman owned a home in Newton and had rented out individual rooms in the house.
Police spoke with the woman, whom the Surrey Now-Leader is choosing not to identify, and learned that she had evicted a male tenant, identified in the warrant only as Chan, on March 28, 2025; however, his belongings were still in his room on the second floor.
The woman and another tenant told police that they believed that Chan had "prohibited weapons and ammunition in his room." Having these items is in breach of his 18-month probation order after being convicted of an assault in January 2024 assault in Langley.
The search warrant stated that Chan had "numerous dealings with police," including a 2024 one in Surrey where he allegedly made threats to "kill his roommates." This police file described him as a "known drug user and is violent/confrontational with police."
Police entered Chan's room, which was open, to see if there were any weapons in plain view and saw "a variety of ammunition and knives." At that time, they also learned that Chan is "known to make homemade explosives."
One of the tenants showed the officer a screenshot Chan had posted to social media that appeared to show him with a "makeshift item in his mouth which appeared to be an explosive."
The officer closed the door to secure it "pending a search warrant." They later learned that someone had seen a rifle in Chan's room three days before, and it had been wrapped in the leg of a pair of pyjama pants.
On May 29, 2025, police learned that security at the scene had located a pipe bomb and had taken a photo of it.
The photo was sent to the explosive disposal unit to make an assessment, which determined it was an improvised explosive device (IED). One of the police officers informed the landlord about the device, and she told police that she believed Chan was "in possession of an explosive in his jacket," and that he would "kill police if they came after him."
The explosive disposal unit was scheduled to travel from Nanaimo on May 30 to "deal with the device."
The search warrant stated that police had "reasonable grounds to believe that the following offences had been committed: careless use of a firearm, breach of probation order and possession of explosives without a lawful excuse."
Police obtained the warrant and evacuated and searched the home on May 30, 2025.
The documents show that a wooden gun that looked like a firearm had been seized, along with several containers of casings, two airsoft guns, live ammunition and an ammo wirecutter.
Chan was charged with two counts of breaching his probation order on May 29, 2025. The Crown entered a stay of proceedings on one of the counts on June 4. He is scheduled to appear in Surrey provincial court on July 4.
Sgt. Tige Pollock from Surrey Police Service told the Now-Leader that this incident is still under investigation. "If officers are seeking further charges, they will forward information to BC Prosecution Services," Pollock said.
