FILE PHOTO
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ B.C. Federal Serious & Organized Crime
January 17, 2023 - 3:30 PM
A drug superlab in the Lower Mainland has been dismantled and three men have been charged and arrested.
Two search warrants were executed on properties in Abbotsford and Surrey on Jan. 14, 2022 by a B.C. Federal Serious & Organized Crime team, according to a media release.
A drug superlab was uncovered at the Abbotsford location where there was evidence of a synthetic drug operation producing fentanyl, MDMA and cannabis extracts. The location also had a mobile fentanyl lab and two boxed drug labs.
Super labs are large-scale, sophisticated clandestine drug labs that can produce sizable quantities of illicit drugs and are often linked to organized crime.
The investigation was launched in Aug. 2021 and as a result the federal RCMP team seized around 36 lbs of crystal methamphetamine, 4 kg of pure fentanyl, more than 700 lbs of marijuana bud, around $20K in cash and a cache of precursor chemicals for the production of fentanyl. Health Canada concluded the precursor chemicals could have produced an additional 50 kg of pure fentanyl, according to the release.
READ MORE: Death toll from toxic illicit drug supply in Okanagan, Kamloops continues to climb
The suspects, Kevin Gonzales, Jemroi Ibarra, and Duc Phung have also been charged with multiple drug related offences under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.
Based on a report by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, 2 milligrams of fentanyl can be lethal depending on a person’s body size, tolerance and past usage.
The Government of Canada’s estimated opioid toxicity deaths amount to approximately 20 deaths per day, with over 76% of cases involving toxic fentanyl.
“Access and availability to toxic drugs is a primary factor in many deaths,” said spokesperson for BC RCMP Federal Serious and Organized Crime Border Integrity Program, Sup. Bert Ferreira in the release. “These drugs come from unsanctioned, uncontrolled, and profit driven facilities. Out of the thousands of loved ones lost to the toxic drug supply, it seems especially tragic that many of the perished have been young Canadians who would have otherwise had their entire lives ahead of them. This is why we are unequivocally committed to preventing toxic opioids from destroying more lives, causing more grief, and threatening the future of our nation.”
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