Man at Centre of Dangerous Chemicals Probe in NS Arrested in Ottawa

Man at Centre of Dangerous Chemicals Probe in NS Arrested in Ottawa
The Chimo Hotel, the scene of an evacuation and police investigation, is shown in Ottawa on Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2015. A 42-year-old man was arrested without incident at the hotel after police found his vehicle. (The Canadian Press/Fred Chartrand)
The Canadian Press
1/21/2015
Updated:
1/22/2015

A 42-year-old man at the centre of a dangerous chemicals investigation in Nova Scotia was quietly arrested at an Ottawa hotel Jan. 21 as police tried to determine what the hazardous material was intended for.

The RCMP issued a Canada-wide warrant for the suspect after a “large quantity” of chemicals were discovered inside two homes in the Halifax area, Cpl. Greg Church said, though he declined to specify how many were found.

The suspect was arrested without incident at the Chimo Hotel and taken into custody after Ottawa police found his vehicle, Church said. He has not been charged.

The Mounties in Nova Scotia, who are handling the investigation, declined to name the man under arrest, but they have told Shannon Miller, a former U.S. Olympic gymnast, that it was her ex-husband, Christopher Phillips, who was arrested.

Evacuations in two Halifax communities were ordered Tuesday as a result of the chemicals discovery. The evacuation of four homes within a 250-metre radius of a cottage in Grand Desert remained in effect Wednesday night.