Mounties have dismantled what they consider to be the largest and most sophisticated illicit drug “superlaboratory” in Canada, which previously served as a “supermarket” for organized crime.

Police say the lab mass produced and distributed fentanyl and methamphetamine, a powerful opioid, across Canada and abroad.

David Teboul, assistant commissioner of the RCMP’s Pacific region, said at a news conference Thursday that dismantling the lab “undoubtedly saved thousands of lives in Canada and abroad.”

“I cannot underestimate the sophistication … that our investigators saw in this particular laboratory,” he said.

Its size, the type of equipment used and the nature of the drug recipes, including a recipe used by a Mexican cartel, indicate how advanced this lab was, Teboul said.

“It took the level of sophistication of this operation to an unprecedented level, certainly in Western Canada, if not the entire country.”

Officers served search warrants last week at the Falkland, B.C., drug lab in the southern Interior and at associated locations in Surrey in Metro Vancouver.

Police said they seized 54 kilograms of fentanyl, “massive” quantities of precursor chemicals, 390 kilograms of methamphetamine and smaller quantities of cocaine, MDMA and cannabis.

At the Surrey sites, they found a total of 89 firearms, including handguns, rifles and AR-15-style submachine guns, as well as small explosive devices, ammunition, silencers, magazines large capacity, bulletproof vests and $500,000 in cash.

Teboul said the lab was created to continue producing medicines without having to stock up on chemicals for weeks or even months.

“This place that our investigators demolished was a supermarket for organized crime businesses,” he said.

Teboul said the drugs in this case were not intended for the U.S. market, but were sent internationally. He did not want to say where as the case is still under investigation.

He said criminals in situations like this are very sophisticated and have shifting allegiances.

“It’s all about making money. These are individuals who operate out of convenience and opportunity, and they’re not necessarily associated with a particular group that wears funny patches on their backs or that sort of thing,” he said.

Investigators say a suspect, Gaganpreet Randhawa, has been arrested and is in custody on six drug and firearms charges. Teboul said more arrests were possible.

He said environmental mitigation and cleanup of the lab would cost at least $500,000 and could be “significantly higher.”

Fentanyl is a main ingredient in much of the toxic illicit drugs that killed nearly 48,000 people across the country between January 2016 and March 2024, according to the federal government.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published October 31, 2024.