6,765 kg of Drugs and Precursor Chemicals Seized in Major Burnaby RCMP Operation

The RCMP has confiscated thousands of kilograms of precursor chemicals used to manufacture illegal drugs, as well as money and guns, during a recent operation in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia.

The Burnaby RCMP Gang Enforcement Team began the investigation a year ago after a traffic stop led to the seizure of four kilograms of precursor chemicals typically used to make fentanyl, according to a July 2 press release.

An investigation into the driver led police to identify three more suspects and “several crime scenes,” according to the release.

Multiple police units, including the heavily armed Emergency Response Team and the Clandestine Laboratory Enforcement and Response unit, carried out search warrants on April 1 at five locations in Richmond, including three homes and two shipping containers.

Police seized 6,765 kilograms of precursor chemicals and “finished product,” including methamphetamine, fentanyl and oxycodone, police said. The searches also uncovered roughly $30,000 in cash, six firearms, “large quantities” of ammunition, 2,900 contraband cigarettes, and two vehicles.

Police said the investigation is ongoing.

“These search warrants resulted in the dismantling of an alleged operational drug production network and the seizure of a plethora of precursor chemicals, finished product and weapons,” Burnaby RCMP Sgt. Jamie Belleville said. “The coordination between internal and external policing partners on this investigation highlights the efforts that our local law enforcement will undertake to ensure public safety.”

The bust is one of several led by the RCMP this year in the province.

One of the largest busts in the province this year was the coordinated interprovincial investigation by the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit of British Columbia. Raids across Metro Vancouver in May led to the seizure of 26 kilograms of cocaine, 7 kilograms of methamphetamine, and $1.5 million in cash.