VANCOUVER - An east Vancouver woman who speaks litle English got a shock this week when police kicked down her door, pointed a gun at her and told her to sit on the floor while officers raided her home, looking for a marijuana-growing operation.

"They searched for marijuana but came to the wrong house," the woman's nephew, Wayne Chen, said Thursday. "They didn't find anything."

Police also handcuffed a Mandarin-speaking Chinese student living in the basement of the home in the 7700-block of Monroe Crescent, he said.

Vancouver police Const. Howard Chow confirmed that no marijuana was found, but said police do not believe they got the wrong house.

Two men fled out a back door as police arrived, he said. The men were detained but not charged.

He said police found a strong smell of marijuana in the basement and what appeared to be growing equipment in a shed on the property.

He said police had found a growing operation at the same address in 2004, when 950 plants were seized. (Property records show the Chens bought the house in March 2005.)

"The police execute 200 [marijuana-growing operation] search warrants a year," Chow said. "In less than one per cent, we don't find marijuana."

Police searched the home around noon Wednesday. "They left without apologizing," Chen said.

His aunt Ying Chen lives at the house with her husband Yong Chen, who was away at work at the time, said the nephew. "He's an honest citizen who works two jobs -- delivering cakes and parking security at night. He doesn't get home until 10:30."

He said he stayed with his aunt until his uncle got home from work. He also helped call the city to see if city staff would repair the door. "They said to fix it and send the bill to the city," he said.

The couple were afraid because the front door of their home was wide open. "They couldn't sleep all night."

The Chens came to Canada from China about 10 years ago. They have a son who graduated from the University of B.C. and now is doing his master's degree at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the nephew said.

Yong Chen met with police Thursday to discuss the matter.

The Vancouver police department's Chow said three investigators had checked the information leading to the search warrant being authorized by a judge.