Federal RCMP investigators have busted what they describe as the largest, most sophisticated “superlab” in Canada — a drug hub with suspected links to Mexican cartels.
On Thursday, Mounties displayed an arsenal of automatic weapons; piles of cocaine, methamphetamine and fentanyl; and even precursor chemicals said to be used in a drug production line supplying Canadian and overseas markets.
Assistant Commissioner David Teboul, Commander of the RCMP Federal Policing program in the Pacific region, said police believe the drugs are connected to Mexican cartels and were bound for international destinations.
“This was a supermarket for organized criminal entities,” said Teboul.
The haul, paraded before reporters at BC RCMP headquarters in Surrey Thursday, was pulled from multiple unidentified locations in Surrey and one in Falkland, B.C., a community about 45 kilometres northwest of Vernon, where the drugs are believed to have been produced, aside from the cocaine.
Police said they confiscated 54 kilograms of fentanyl; 395 kilograms of methamphetamine; 35 kilograms of cocaine; 15 kilograms of MDMA; and six kilograms of marijuana. They also found 10 tonnes of powder precursor chemicals and 5,000 litres of precursor chemicals used to produce fentanyl — enough to create 95,500,000 potentially lethal doses of the drug.
Teboul said this is the first time in B.C. police have discovered production of P2P methamphetamine, a high-potency form of the drug used by and Mexican cartels.
Altogether, police estimate the drugs are worth $485 million.
“This enforcement has neutralized a key production centre,” Teboul said.
A total of 89 firearms were also found in the busts, including AR-15s and two 50-calibre sub-machine guns.
The assistant commissioner said the amount of weapons is "highly unusual" and “many of these were loaded and ready to be used.”
Gaganpreet Randhawa of Surrey has been brought up on six counts of weapons and drug-related charges.
When asked why one person has been arrested, Teboul said the investigation is ongoing.
Teboul said Mexican cartels "don't have headquarters in Canada ...but they have proxies."
Teboul said the investigation includes "determining the common source of these precursor chemicals." He declined to specify where the drugs were headed, but said they were not destined for the United States.
The chemicals, meanwhile, are "believed to come from a variety of locations," he said.
According to Mounties, investigators have linked the operation to a recent enforcement action conducted by the RCMP CLEAR team where 30 tonnes of precursor chemicals were .
Teboul said police executed search warrants at three locations on Oct. 25 following an investigation spanning "months."
This article was update Oct.31 to include additional details
With files from Castanet
