RCMP officers seen searching the Falkland lab Oct. 25, 2024.

Image Credit: SUBMITTED/RCMP

A North Okanagan fentanyl bust caught the attention of American drug enforcement as the agency cites its "growing concern" for drugs imported from Canada.

The Falkland property was dubbed a "super lab" by RCMP in October 2024, announcing the raid of Canada's largest ever and most sophisticated illicit drug lab.

The US Drug Enforcement Agency said sophisticated "super laboratories" represent a potential new source of illicit opioids should supplies from Mexico be disrupted, according to its 2025 national threat assessment.

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Mounties said the bust was part of a crackdown on large-scale production and international export of illicit drugs, calling it a "major blow" to transnational criminal organizations. Where the methamphetamine and fentanyl mixed there was destined isn't known, but police said they stopped a 310-kilogram shipment before it left the country.

"In addition to the synthetic drug threat from Mexico, elevated synthetic drug production in Canada—particularly from sophisticated fentanyl “super laboratories” such as the type seized by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in October 2024—presents a growing concern for the United States," the DEA report reads.

It comes months after US president Donald Trump urged Canada to appoint a fentanyl czar and initially cited drugs as his reason to impose trade tariffs. The report also said 23 kilograms of fentanyl had been seized at the Canada-US border in 2024, compared to nearly 10 tonnes on the Mexico border.

So far, just one man has been charged in connection to the Falkland drug bust, while the BC government simultaneously tries to take the property through civil court.

The BC Civil Forfeiture Office said the rural Falkland property was used for drug production since at least January 2024, but police had searched it in 2015 and 2016 for illegal cannabis grow ops, according to a notice of claim.

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Owner Michael Driehuyzen is alleged to have used the proceeds to invest in the property, which he has owned since 2007, and pay to off his mortgage.

Driehuyzen is an Abbotsford resident and electrician and he denies taking part in any illegal activities at the property or using proceeds of crime to pay his mortgage, going on to claim RCMP violated his Charter rights when they raided the property, according to his response in civil court.

Surrey man Gaganpreet Singh Randhawa is facing 11 charges related to the lab and is also named in the civil suit, but he has not responded in court. He remains the only person criminally charged in the investigation.

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