Chemist arrested during bust of 3 Lower Mainland fentanyl labs

Three clandestine fentanyl labs have been busted by police in British Columbia's Lower Mainland, and two people arrested, including an individual claiming to have expertise as a chemist.

B.C. RCMP say the labs were located in Pitt Meadows, Mission and Aldergrove, and equipped with specialized chemical processing equipment often found in academic and professional research facilities.

According to Chief Supt. Stephen Lee, the labs were capable of producing fentanyl, MDMA, also known as ecstasy, and GHB, also known as liquid ecstasy. 

"The discovery of commercial grade chemistry equipment at all locations, in addition to the arrest of of an individual who we suspect has a background in chemistry, points to a disturbing trend of progressively advanced scientific and technical expertise among transnational organized crime groups involved in the production and distribution of illicit drugs," said Lee.

Search warrants were also executed in Aldergrove and Langley, according to Lee.

The quantity of drugs and precursors seized were equal to 5.5 million doses of potentially lethal fentanyl, according to investigators.

"It speaks to the level of sophistication that we're seeing in organized crime in the production of synthetic drugs in Canada," Assistant Commissioner Dave Teboul said.

There is no evidence the drugs produced by the labs were being shipped to the U.S., he said.

"One location in particular we intercepted it at the right time because we believe it was in the process of expanding operations," he said.

Lee said the investigation dates back to the summer of 2023 when the RCMP clandestine lab enforcement and response team started looking into the importation of unregulated chemicals and commercial lab equipment.