Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams has dismantled what officials are calling an alleged fentanyl “superlab,” operating outside of Valleyview, responsible for producing a significant amount of fentanyl for the Western Canadian drug market.
According to ALERT, the superlab is estimated to have been regularly producing bulk quantities of fentanyl “for years,” and the bust took nearly $1 million of fentanyl and production chemicals off the streets.
ALERT, along with the RCMP’s Clandestine Laboratory Enforcement Response Team, executed a search warrant at the lab on October 2nd. Law enforcement says the process took four days, and approximately 70 police officers, scientists, and other emergency personnel to dismantle the lab.
During their search, ALERT seized seven kilograms of processed fentanyl, 4,200 litres of suspected fentanyl precursor chemicals, and 1,500 litres of chemical waste used in production.
Additionally, industrial-grade, highly specialized lab equipment, worth an estimated tens of thousands of dollars were also seized and have since been destroyed.
Police say the processed fentanyl has an estimated street value of $700K, and with two milligrams of fentanyl being considered a potentially lethal dose, one kilogram of fentanyl represents 500K fatal doses alone.
One person was arrested during the search and is alleged to be the “cook” of the operation. 55-year-old Kelowna man Stephen Mogg was charged with alleged production of a controlled substance and possession of fentanyl for the purpose of trafficking.
ALERT officials believe the lab could be connected to a larger, interprovincial organized crime group, responsible for the production, chemical importation, and wholesale distribution of fentanyl, operating throughout Western Canada, and their investigation remains ongoing.
