RCMP seized fentanyl, cash and production equipment from a West Kelowna warehouse March 3, 2016.
Image Credit: RCMP
March 04, 2016 - 1:27 PM
WEST KELOWNA – Four people have been arrested and almost 200 grams of fentanyl were taken off the street after a RCMP raid on a warehouse in West Kelowna.
In mid-December the Canada Border Services Agency notified local RCMP a package was being imported from overseas which contained a piece of pharmaceutical equipment. The equipment was destined for a location in West Kelowna, where investigators found a pair of pill presses.
An investigation by RCMP Street Enforcement Unit and West Kelowna RCMP eventually expanded to include a second location possibly being used to distribute illegal drugs.
On March 2, local RCMP executed a search warrant at a commercial property on the 2600-block of Auburn Crescent where they found an estimated 500 'fake' Percocet and OxyContin pills, 195 grams of suspected fentanyl, two industrial pill presses capable of making 2,500 pills per hour and a chemical mixer.
Police also found approximately eight kilograms of suspected fentanyl powder in a shop vacuum.
An industrial pill press was removed from a West Kelowna warehouse March 3, 2016.
Image Credit: RCMP
Police also searched a rural property on the 700-block of Petterson Road in West Kelowna where they found approximately 800 fake OxyContin pills suspected to be laced with Fentanyl and several gold bars believed to be related to a reported theft.
As proceeds of crime RCMP confiscated approximately $40,000 cash, a $60,000 Dodge pickup and a Cadillac Escalade with an approximate value of $50,000.
After the nearly three month investigation, four individuals are facing potential charges, a 37-year-old man and a 26-year-old woman from West Kelowna, as well as a 29-year-old Kelowna man and a 25-year-old Calgary man.
They face possible charges of possession of a controlled substance, possession for the purpose of trafficking, production of a controlled substance, and importation of a controlled substance.
“The execution of these search warrants by the Kelowna RCMP Street Enforcement Team and West Kelowna RCMP will have a serious impact in the counterfeit production and distribution of Fentanyl laced pills,” Sgt. Alex Lynch says in a media release. “The RCMP are committed to continue to target these illegal clandestine Labs which pose significant risks to their communities.”
Police suspect this fake OxyContin pill is laced with fentanyl.
Image Credit: RCMP
To contact the reporter for this story, email Adam Proskiw at aproskiw@infonews.ca or call 250-718-0428. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.
News from © iNFOnews, 2016