A Langley 'super lab' producing suspected fentanyl was dismantled by the Burnaby RCMP last month after a six-month investigation that led to two arrests.
On Oct. 16 and 17, the Burnaby RCMP Drug and Organized Crime Section (DOCS) executed four search warrants around the Lower Mainland, one of which led to the arrests and the discovery of the clandestine drug lab on a rural property in Langley.
Police believe the facility could have produced multiple kilograms of fentanyl on a weekly basis, according to Cpl. Michael Kalanj, a spokesperson for the Burnaby RCMP.
When they arrived at the Langley property, officers found a large room with drug making equipment and materials, including giant glass beakers and numerous large plastic buckets, many of them filled with a brown liquid.
Kalanj said suspected fentanyl, precursor chemicals, and two vehicles were seized.
It took three days for the provincial RCMP Clandestine Lab Team to dismantle the lab and dispose of the contaminated materials and equipment. Health Canada and Emergency Health Services were on standby during the process.
Two men were arrested and charges were expected to be recommended against them, said Kalanj, with charges against others possible as the investigation continues.
Sgt. Randy Mortensen of the Burnaby RCMP DOCS said the lab is directly linked to organized crime groups linked to the ongoing gang wars in B.C., and that the fentanyl being produced there was being widely distributed.
B.C. has been in a nine-year overdose and toxic drug crisis that began when fentanyl began entering the street drug supply chain. Thousands of British Columbians have since died of the toxic drug supply.
