Cache of precursor chemicals for making fentanyl and MDMA seized by BC RCMP in Lower Mainland.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ B.C. RCMP
March 16, 2023 - 2:23 PM
Two people were arrested and a massive amount of precursor chemicals for making illicit drugs were seized in the Lower Mainland following a 22-month police investigation.
It was enough chemicals to make 262-million potentially lethal doses of fentanyl and three-million doses of MDMA, according to a media release from the RCMP's Federal Serious and Organized Crime unit.
The investigation was launched after 54 boxes of liquid gamma-butyrolactone were intercepted at the Canadian border in April 2021, a chemical classified as a precursor in the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.
Investigators found a suspect who was also allegedly smuggling of other precursor chemicals into Canada. A series of search warrants were simultaneously executed across Metro Vancouver, Feb. 23, in a coordinated effort by several B.C. RCMP units and detachments.
A man and woman were arrested and two residences and three storage facilities in Metro Vancouver were searched.
Police found 600 kilograms of fentanyl precursor 4-Piperidone monohydrate hydrochloride valued at $600,000.00, over 200 kg of an MDMA precursor and Piperonyl Methyl Ketone ethyl glycidate valued at $120,000.00.
The amount of precursor chemicals seized could have made 525 kg of fentanyl and over 150 kg of MDMA when combined with other chemicals needed for synthesis, RCMP said.
A two milligram dose of fentanyl can prove lethal for some individuals; therefore, the seized 4-Piperidone in this case could have produced over 262 million potentially lethal doses of fentanyl, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
It's becoming more common for organized crime groups to import the precursor chemicals and manufacture synthetic drugs in local illicit drug labs in order to evade detection at ports of entry.
“Our highly trained (Federal Serious and Organized Crime) investigators are also continuously adapting, and implementing cutting edge technology, and investigative techniques, to combat these sophisticated criminal organizations,” officer in charge of the B.C. RCMP Federal Serious and Organized Crime Border Integrity program Supt. Jim Leonard said in the release.
READ MORE: Dozens of guns and kilos of drugs seized in raids across Okanagan
Other items seized included three high-end vehicles, two luxury watches, electronics, cash, dried cannabis and other unregulated chemicals used to manufacture illicit synthetic drugs.
Last year, the toxic drug supply claimed almost 2,300 lives in the province, and 82% were due to fentanyl use, either alone or in combination with other drugs, RCMP said.
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