Largest drug ‘super lab’ in Canadian history busted with record amounts of fentanyl, chemicals and weapons

Canadian police said they seized a “record number of illegal firearms, synthetic drugs and precursor chemicals” on Thursday by busting what they said was the largest, most advanced illegal drug “super laboratory” in the country.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said they believe the mass production and distribution operation was carried out by organized crime. fentanyl and methamphetamine across Canada and internationally.

Officers last week executed search warrants at the drug lab in Falklands, British Columbia, and related locations in Surrey in Metro Vancouver. RCMP posted multiple photos The operation showed police officers in protective suits retrieving items from the “super laboratory”.

Police say 54 kilograms of fentanyl were seized in a “massive” quantity precursor chemicals390 kilograms of methamphetamine and smaller quantities of cocaine, MDMA and cannabis.

They also found a total of 89 firearms, including handguns, AR-15 style rifles and submachine guns; most of them were full and ready for use. They also found small explosive devices, ammunition, silencers, high-capacity magazines, body armor and $500,000 Canadian ($359,000) in cash.

Investigators said the suspect, Gaganpreet Randhawa, was arrested and remains in custody facing multiple drug and firearms-related charges.

“This is undoubtedly a major blow to transnational organized crime groups and a major step towards ensuring the safety of Canadians and the international community,” said Federal Police Pacific District Officer-in-Charge Jillian Wellard.

According to the Canadian government, fentanyl is the main ingredient in many of the toxic illicit drugs that killed nearly 48,000 people in Canada between January 2016 and March 2024.

The raid comes in about two weeks Canadian police said He had made arrests linked to another international organized crime group. RCMP said it has been working with the FBI for more than a year to target a Mexican cartel-linked criminal network that transported large quantities of methamphetamine and cocaine from Central and South America through the United States to Canada and abroad.

Canadian authorities said the network also committed murders and laundered significant amounts of money in North America. Officials said Canadian Ryan Wedding, the alleged leader of this network, is still at large and wanted by the United States and Canada.