Few details available as RCMP, ERT descend on Merritt house

A large police presence in Merritt Sunday (Dec. 29) morning was due to an ongoing operation at a house in the Nicola Valley community.

RCMP say officers from the Merritt detachment and the Emergency Response Team were executing a search warrant at a house in the 2000-block of Clapperton Avenue, though exact details about the nature of the operation are not known at this time.

“This is part of an ongoing investigation so they aren’t able to provide more details,” an RCMP spokesperson told CFJC Today. “These search warrants can be executed with the assistance of the ERT throughout the province almost on a daily basis.”

Witnesses reported seeing a number of police vehicles in the area near Priest Avenue and Garcia Street in Merritt. Police told CFJC Today they were called to the area around 5 a.m. Sunday.

Pending the outcome of the operation and the nature of the investigation, RCMP say they may have more information to release at a later time.

“At this time, I don’t know if there will be more information about this specific call-out,” the RCMP spokesperson added. “If we have anything more to share, we’ll probably do it later today or tomorrow morning.”