Five British Columbians and an Alberta man are facing numerous charges in relation to the illicit production of synthetic drugs.
Two years ago, several RCMP units executed a search warrant on a property on Trinity Valley Road in Lumby, BC.
Police found a massive clandestine laboratory, one of the largest in BC. The specialized hazardous waste removal and disposal required in this case was in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Michael McMorris, Robyn Bryson, Trent FUSSI, Michael Harvey, Tyson Kopp and Michael Piggott all face several counts of Unlawfully Possessing Chemicals and Equipment, Possession of a Controlled Substance for the Purpose of Trafficking (methamphetamine and fentanyl), and Production of a Controlled Substance (methamphetamine and fentanyl).
Bryson and Fussi both face an additional charge of Flight from Police. McMorris, Harvey, Kopp and Piggott are scheduled to appear in Kelowna Law Courts on October 27.
In total, approximately 48 kilograms of ephedrine HCl, 50 kilograms of solutions containing ephedrine HCl, 4.5 kilograms of methamphetamine HCl, 147 gallons (556 litres) of solutions containing methamphetamine, 10 kilograms of 4-anilino-N-phenethylpiperidine (ANPP), 2.95 kilograms of nandrolone phenylpropionate (NPP), 660 grams of fentanyl and 124.7 litres of solutions containing both fentanyl and ANPP were confiscated.
The chemical ANPP is a direct precursor to fentanyl, and NPP is an androgen and anabolic steroid.
Illegally produced fentanyl has been found in an increased number of overdose deaths in BC, and clandestine laboratories like these are fuelling this health crisis, said BC RCMP.
In this instance, there was a very large amount of synthetic waste by-product that had yet to be disposed which posed a significant risk to the local farms and residents living in the area, said Supt Bert Ferreira, Officer in Charge of the Federal RCMP Border Integrity teams in BC.
Bryson and Fussi remain at large with endorsed warrants for their arrest. If you know their whereabouts, please call your local police or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) to report it anonymously.
