Edmonton police make largest fentanyl pill seizure in Canadian history
Investigators are hailing a recent drug bust as the largest fentanyl pill seizure in Canadian history, pulling millions of dollars worth of the dangerous pills off the streets.
“We investigated what we believe is the largest fentanyl pill seizure in all of Canada. We seized 130,000 pills,” Edmonton police Staff Sgt. Karen Ockerman of the Edmonton Drug and Gang Enforcement (EDGE) unit said Friday.
After police began investigating in March, EGDE members searched a home July 5 in Edmonton, seizing 67,000 fentanyl pills worth approximately $1.9 million on the street.
Investigators then searched three other properties in Edmonton and another in Sturgeon County, where police discovered a home at 26023 Township Rd. 544 that appeared to have been used as a fentanyl pill processing lab.
“This is a tableting operation, where they bring the fentanyl powder, microcrystalline cellulose, a pill binder, other buffers such as caffeine and other sugars, and they mix them together and press them into pills,” said Const. Jason Wells, a member of the RCMP Clandestine Lab Enforcement Response (CLEAR) team.
Wells said drug producers appear to have been using four portable cement mixers to combine the fentanyl powder with binders and buffing agents, something he said the RCMP has never seen before.
The producers then allegedly used two pill presses to form the powder into saleable pills. Wells said each pill press is capable of pressing 5,000 pills per hour.
“When I entered the house and saw the scale and the size of the production that they had, I was very concerned,” said Wells.
The producers also appear to have been using the cement mixers to coat the pills, which are dyed green and imprinted to mimic the appearance of OxyContin 80-milligram tablets.
Investigators also seized 113 grams of carfentanil, a far more potent and potentially deadly analogue of the synthetic opioid fentanyl.
“The fact that it is so strong makes it that much more difficult to dose properly from pill to pill. It is extremely concerning that carfentanil was found there,” Wells said.
Among other drugs and paraphernalia, officers seized 658 grams of fentanyl-laced powder.
“The drugs will be further analyzed at a lab, but we’re finding it to be a more frequent occurrence that fentanyl is being laced into other drugs, such as heroine, cocaine. It’s being put in all sorts of drugs now,” Ockerman said.
Investigators also seized more than $1 million in cash, setting an Edmonton police record.
”It’s all about money,” said Ockerman. “If they don’t have the money, they can’t purchase the products to make more drugs.”
Charges are pending.
A stack of cash seized by police as part of an investigation into a large drug-trafficking ring in Edmonton was displayed by the Edmonton Police Service on July 28, 2017.
Const. Jason Wells of the RCMP Clandestine Lab Enforcement and Response (CLEAR) team, left, and Staff Sgt. Karen Ockerman of the Edmonton Drug and Gang Enforcement (EDGE) unit display on July 28, 2017, an estimated 130,000 fentanyl pills with an approximate street value of $2 million seized in a property search on July 5, 2017.
In total, investigators seized:
— Four kilograms of cocaine with an estimated street value of $129,000
— Eight kilograms of methamphetamine with an estimated street value of $52,000
— 834 grams of cannabis extract, commonly known as shatter, in one-gram packages with a street value of $58,000
— 130,000 fentanyl pills worth an estimated $3.9 million
— 113 grams of carfentanil with a street value of $14,000
— 658 grams of fentanyl-laced powders with an estimated street value of $115,000
— Approximately 100 kilograms of buffing agent
— More than $1 million in Canadian currency
— Four portable cement mixers, like the 100-litre models sold at home improvement supply stores
— Two pill presses
— A 2001 Ford F-150 with a hidden compartment
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