Canadian police on Thursday dismantled what they called the country’s largest and most sophisticated illicit drug “super lab,” saying they had seized “a record number of illegal firearms, synthetic drugs and precursors.” chemicals”.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said they believed organized crime was running the operation where there was mass production and distribution of fentanyl and methamphetamine throughout Canada and abroad.
Officers served search warrants last week at the drug lab in Falkland, British Columbia, and associated locations in Surrey, Metro Vancouver. The RCMP released several photos of the operation showing officers in protective suits recovering items from the “super lab.”
Police said they seized 54 kilograms of fentanyl, “massive” amounts of precursor chemicals390 kilograms of methamphetamine and smaller quantities of cocaine, MDMA and cannabis.
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
They also found a total of 89 firearms, including handguns, AR-15-style rifles and machine guns – “many of which were loaded and ready to use.” They also found small explosive devices, ammunition, silencers, high-capacity magazines, body armor and $500,000 Canadian (US$359,000) in cash.
Investigators said a suspect, Gaganpreet Randhawa, was arrested and is in custody facing numerous drug and firearms-related charges.
“This is undoubtedly a significant blow to the transnational organized crime groups involved and a major step towards the safety of Canadians and the international community,” said Federal Police Officer-in-Charge Jillian Wellard. of the Pacific region.
Fentanyl is a main ingredient in many of the toxic illicit drugs that killed nearly 48,000 people in Canada between January 2016 and March 2024, according to the Canadian government.
The arrest comes about two weeks after Canadian police said they had made arrests linked to another transnational organized crime group. The RCMP said it had been working with the FBI for more than a year to target a criminal network linked to a Mexican cartel that was transporting large quantities of methamphetamine and cocaine from Central and South America through the U.S. -United to Canada and abroad.
Canadian authorities said the network also committed murders across North America and laundered large sums of money. The alleged leader of this network, Canadian Ryan Wedding, is still at large and is wanted by the United States and Canada, authorities said.