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Thursday, March 3, 2005 Updated at 3:12 PM EST


There are unconfirmed reports of gunfire and injuries at the scene of an RCMP raid of a suspected marijuana producer northwest of Edmonton, the province's Solicitor-General said Thursday.

Four officers dispatched to the scene for the morning raid remain out of radio contact and police are trying to sort out exactly what has happened, Solicitor-General Harvey Cenaiko said.

According to some reports, as many as four Mounties had been shot. But Mr. Cenaiko told CBC that the situation is ongoing and that little is known at this point.

Although details are still sketchy, it appears that the police were raiding a farmhouse near the hamlet of Rochport Bridge, Alberta, a tiny community about 130 kilometres northwest of the provincial capital.

Rochport Bridge lies just east of Mayerthorpe on Highway 43, which continues down to the fringes of Edmonton and connects with the community of Spruce Grove.

RCMP detachments in that area of Alberta refused to either confirm or deny that anything out of the ordinary had occurred.

More to come




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