‘Smorgasbord’ of drugs, cash and gold seized in Victoria, Vancouver

A joint operation by RCMP in British Columbia and the FBI in Los Angeles resulted in a massive bust, arrests and a “smorgasbord” of dozens of different drugs, along with a large amount of cash, gold and silver bars.

Between September and December 2021, the Vancouver Island-based teams of Federal Serious and Organized Crime Major Projects investigators executed a series of search warrants and other enforcement actions in connection with a drug-trafficking investigation.

Searches of five vehicles, and six residences in Vancouver and Victoria resulted in the arrest of six people, and the seizure of drugs, Canadian currency, gold and silver bars.

The drugs seized included 2.5 kilograms of cocaine, 26 kilograms of “buff” (benzocaine and procaine used to cut cocaine), 6,770 doses of LSD, about one kilogram each of dried cannabis and psilocybin, 5,000 tablets of counterfeit Xanax and 60 litres of Gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB).

There was also 1.5 kilograms of MDMA/MDA (ecstasy), half a kilogram each of ketamine and methamphetamine, 115 bottles of anabolic steroids in different forms, and 0.5 kilograms of drugs such as opium and heroin cut with fentanyl.

Officers also seized hundreds of packages of illicit cannabis edibles, including gummies, granola, chocolates and pills, transdermal THC patches, dried cannabis buds and concentrated cannabis extracts and vaping products. The seized cash totalled $367,346, while the value of the gold and silver seized is estimated at about $42,000.

In B.C., criminal organizations have made significant investments in the illicit drug trade, which has had a lasting negative impact on our society, said Supt. Richard Bergevin, officer in charge of B.C. RCMP Federal Serious and Organized Crime – Major Projects. The damage to communities is immeasurable and families across the country continue to feel the losses to overdose and addiction, he said.

No charges have yet been laid and the investigation is ongoing, RCMP said.

The Major Projects squad specifically targets organized crime groups whose criminal activities have provincial and national implications for Canada. Investigators work collaboratively with local and international policing partners to detect, disrupt and deter the activities of criminal organizations at the national and transnational level.