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Canadian police bust massive drug lab linked to organized crime ring

Canadian police said Thursday they busted the country's “largest and most sophisticated fentanyl and methamphetamine drug superlab,” seizing large quantities of drugs, weapons, ammunition and cash.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said it executed search warrants on Oct. 25 at the drug lab in Falkland, British Columbia, as well as other related locations in the Greater Vancouver area.

Canadian law enforcement officials described the drug lab as the center of an organized criminal operation involving the mass production and distribution of fentanyl and methamphetamine both in Canada and internationally.

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Drugs, firearms discovered

According to police, the seized materials included 54 kilograms of fentanyl, “vast amounts of precursor chemicals,” 390 kilograms of methamphetamine and smaller amounts of cocaine, MDMA and cannabis.

Police also found 89 firearms, including handguns, submachine guns and AR-15 rifles, as well as small explosive devices, large quantities of ammunition, silencers, high-capacity magazines, body armor and $500,000 Canadian dollars, which is equivalent to about $360,000 U.S. dollars.

According to police, nine of the seized weapons were stolen.

Canadian authorities said a suspect named Gaganpreet Randhawa was arrested and remanded in custody on multiple drug and firearms charges.

“This is undoubtedly a serious blow to the transnational organized crime groups involved and a major step towards ensuring the safety of Canadians and the international community,” said Jillian Wellard, officer in charge of the Federal Policing Pacific Region.

This story has been updated to add images.

Max Hauptman is a trends reporter for USA TODAY. He can be reached at [email protected]

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