Federal RCMP investigators have dismantled what they describe as Canada’s largest and most sophisticated “superlab” – a drug hub suspected of having ties to Mexican cartels.

On Thursday, the gendarmerie deployed an arsenal of automatic weapons; piles of cocaine, methamphetamine and fentanyl; and even chemical precursors that would be used in a drug production chain supplying Canadian and foreign markets.

Assistant Commissioner David Teboul, commander of the RCMP’s Federal Policing program in the Pacific region, said police believed the drugs were linked to Mexican cartels and were destined for international destinations.

“It was a supermarket for organized criminal entities,” Teboul said.

The shipment, presented to reporters Thursday at British Columbia RCMP headquarters in Surrey, came from several unidentified locations in Surrey and one in Falkland, B.C., a community about 45 kilometers to the north -west of Vernon, where the drugs were allegedly produced, in addition to cocaine.

Police said they confiscated 54 kilograms of fentanyl; 395 kilograms of methamphetamine; 35 kilograms of cocaine; 15 kilograms of MDMA; and six kilos of marijuana. They also found 10 tonnes of powdered precursor chemicals and 5,000 liters of precursor chemicals used to produce fentanyl – enough to create 95,500,000 potentially lethal doses of the drug.

Teboul said this is the first time in British Columbia that police have discovered P2P production of methamphetamine, a highly potent form of the drug used by outlaw motorcycle gangs and the Mexican cartels.

In total, police estimate the value of the drugs is $485 million.

“This enforcement has neutralized a key production center,” Teboul said.

A total of 89 firearms were also found in the busts, including AR-15s and two 50-caliber submachine guns.

The deputy commissioner said the quantity of weapons was “highly unusual” and “many of them were loaded and ready for use.”

Gaganpreet Randhawa, of Surrey, was charged with six weapons and drug-related charges.

When asked why someone was arrested, Teboul said the investigation was ongoing.

Teboul said Mexican cartels “don’t have headquarters in Canada…but they have proxies.”

Teboul said the investigation included “determining the common source of these chemical precursors.” He declined to say where the drugs were destined, but said they were not destined for the United States.

The chemicals, meanwhile, “would come from a variety of places,” he said.

According to the RCMP, investigators linked the operation to a recent law enforcement action led by the RCMP’s CLEAR Team, during which 30 tonnes of precursor chemicals were found. seized from rural property in Enderby.

Teboul said police executed search warrants at three locations on Oct. 25 following an investigation spanning “months.”

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This article was updated on October 31 to include additional details

With the Castanet files