A 16-month-long investigation into a B.C. criminal organization by Surrey RCMP has culminated in one of the largest illegal drugs busts ever recorded by the federal policing agency.
Police also seized several prohibited firearms, ammunition, body armour, $119,000 in cash, and three vehicles.
The investigation began at the street level in 2023 and culminated in the bust against drug wholesalers and distributors, police said. The date of the searches was not released.
Multiple suspects were identified and taken into custody during the course of the investigation and three men between the ages of 24 and 47 have been arrested, police said. A report to the Public Prosecution Services of Canada is currently underway to recommend charges against the three men.
Surrey RCMP Assistant Commissioner Brian Edwards said the force would continue to focus on bringing the “high-level drug traffickers who are harming our community” to justice.
“The Surrey RCMP Drug Unit remains focussed on pursuing those who aim to profit from illicit drug trade and illegal firearms trafficking,” he said in the press release “The totality of drugs seized in this investigation was significant and will disrupt the drug trade in Surrey.”
The bust comes a month after the Pacific Region RCMP in British Columbia dismantled what they called the “largest and most sophisticated” drug-production lab in Canadian history.
That take down also came after several months of investigative work and resulted in the shut down of a fentanyl and methamphetamine lab run by a transnational organized crime group.
Officers seized approximately “half-a-ton of hard drugs,” $500,00 in cash, firearms, explosive devices, and body armour.
