Explosives, weapons seized just as B.C. drug lab about to start operation, police say

SURREY — British Columbia’s gang squad says it has uncovered what would have been a sophisticated illicit drug production organization, seizing large quantities of drugs, dozens of firearms and 65 cubes of commercial explosives.

RCMP Sgt. Sarbjit Sangha, with the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit, says the discovery of explosives is especially disturbing because they are strictly regulated in Canada and only available to authorized blasting companies.

She says the drug lab was under construction and the facility, along with the explosives and illegal firearms, significantly elevated the public safety concerns associated with the investigation.

In addition to the weapons discovered on a rural property in Abbotsford, police found a long list of drugs, including two kilos each of fentanyl and methamphetamine, 64 litres of GHB, cocaine, heroin, MDMA, oxycodone and benzodiazepine.