Several million “potentially lethal doses of fentanyl” have been seized by the RCMP in British Columbia after investigators dismantled three synthetic drug labs in the province.
RCMP investigators carried out multiple search warrants at different sites across Metro Vancouver between March 26–29. The searches uncovered three separate drug labs located in Pitt Meadows, Mission, and Aldergrove, with two of them believed to be manufacturing fentanyl, police said in a press release.
RCMP Federal Policing program Chief Supt. Stephen Lee said the purpose of the third drug lab remains “undetermined” at this time, but noted that all three facilities were equipped with unregulated chemicals, and commercial laboratory equipment that could be used in the production of fentanyl, ecstasy, and GHB, which has become known as the date rape drug.
Authorities apprehended two people at one of the labs, one of whom claimed to have an advanced degree in organic chemistry, police said.
All three labs have been tied to transnational organized crime groups based in British Columbia, Lee said.
“The discovery of commercial-grade chemistry equipment at all locations, in addition to the arrest of an individual who we suspect has a background in chemistry, points to a disturbing trend of progressively enhanced scientific and technical expertise, among transnational organized crime groups involved in the production and distribution of illicit drugs,” he said in the release.
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RCMP Asst. Comm. David Teboul described the lab takedowns as the best way to “counter fentanyl production at its source” while foiling the plans of increasingly sophisticated organized crime groups.
The latest lab takedowns are part of a larger investigation launched in the summer of 2023 into a B.C.-based organized crime group, police said. The RCMP Clandestine Lab Enforcement and Response (CLEAR) Team initiated the inquiry to discover more about the importation of precursor chemicals, and commercial laboratory equipment into the province.
The investigation is ongoing and the seized drugs, precursor chemicals, and other evidence from the latest police raids continue to be processed, the RCMP said.
Chemical and lab equipment found at three British Columbia synthetic drug labs dismantled by the RCMP in late March. RCMP handout photo
Drugs Not Meant for US: RCMP
Teboul noted in the press release that none of the confiscated fentanyl was meant for export to the United States, but didn’t clarify whether the drugs would have been exported to other locations or sold within the country.
“There continues to be no evidence, in this case and others, that these labs are producing fentanyl for exportation into the United States,” he said.
The production of fentanyl and its illicit smuggling across borders by Canadian criminal organizations has become a point of contention between the United States and Canada.
Arguing that Canada must do more to curb the flow of fentanyl across its southern border, U.S. President Donald Trump levied 25 percent border and fentanyl-related tariffs on Canadian products not covered under the countries’ free trade agreement as well as a 10 percent levy on energy products.
White House senior adviser Peter Navarro has said the tariffs were implemented because “the president is fighting a drug war” and dismissed claims that the United States has launched a trade war against Canada. Since then, the administration has also imposed 25 percent tariffs on steel and aluminum as well as on auto parts.
The Prime Minister’s Office said in January that less than 0.2 percent of fentanyl seized by U.S. Customs and Border Protection comes from Canada. However, a report last year from Criminal Intelligence Service Canada said the number of organized crime groups involved in the drug trade has grown in the country in the past few years.
The report described organized crime as being responsible in Canada for “thousands of deaths annually from overdoses due to illicit drugs.” It said that the manufacturing of synthetic drugs has nearly doubled between 2023 and 2024, noting that the crime groups have strong links to the United States, Mexico, and Colombia.
Canada has earmarked $1.3 billion for border security since Trump first threatened tariffs and, at his request, has also appointed a “fentanyl czar” to oversee a Canada–U.S. Joint Strike Force as well as naming fentanyl cartels terrorists.
