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Canadian Mounties bust massive drug ‘super lab’ linked to transnational organized crime

October 31, 2024 GMT

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Firearms and illicit drugs seized last week are displayed as Royal Canadian Mounted Police Chief Supt. Stephen Lee, back from left, Asst. Commissioner David Teboul, Insp. Jillian Wellard and Cpl. Arash Seyed leave after a news conference at RCMP headquarters, in Surrey, British Columbia, Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024. The RCMP says they have dismantled "the largest and most sophisticated fentanyl and methamphetamine drug superlab in Canada," after an operation was conducted in Falkland, British Columbia, and Surrey beginning last Friday. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)

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VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Canadian police dismantled what they said Thursday is the largest, most sophisticated illicit drug “super lab” in the country.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police believe organized crime ran the operation where there was mass-production and distribution of fentanyl and methamphetamine across Canada and internationally.

Officers served search warrants last week on the drug lab in Falkland, British Columbia and associated locations in Surrey, in Metro Vancouver.

Police said they seized 54 kilograms of fentanyl, “massive” amounts of precursor chemicals, 390 kilograms of methamphetamine, and smaller amounts of cocaine, MDMA and cannabis.

They also found a total of 89 firearms, including handguns, AR-15-style rifles and submachine-guns as well as 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.

Fentanyl is a main ingredient in much of the toxic illicit drugs that have killed nearly 48,000 people across Canada between January 2016 and March 2024, according to the Canadian government.