One day after police agencies and health authorities launched an awareness campaign warning about the dangers of the synthetic drug fentanyl, Burnaby RCMP and Vancouver police announced a significant crackdown on fentanyl distribution in Metro Vancouver.
At a press conference in Vancouver on Tuesday, Burnaby RCMP and the Vancouver Police Department reported that eight people had been arrested and tens of thousands of fentanyl pills had been seized along with large amounts of marijuana, methamphetamine, hash, heroin, cocaine, alprazolam and oxycodone following the execution of 11 search warrants throughout Vancouver, Burnaby and North Vancouver on Feb. 17.
The search warrants were the result of a joint taskforce between the Burnaby RCMP, Vancouver Police Department and the federal RCMP aimed at “disrupting distribution lines in the Lower Mainland.”
“This is not one municipality’s concern, this is not one jurisdiction’s concern, this is the concern of a number of jurisdictions and a number of police forces throughout the Lower Mainland,” Sgt. Randy Fincham, spokesperson for the Vancouver Police Department, said Tuesday.
Fentanyl is a synthetic painkiller similar to heroin that was linked to an increasing amount of drug overdoses across the Lower Mainland last year. In 2013 it was linked to about 75 overdose deaths across the province, according to police.
The drug is taste-less odour-less and about 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine. Police have found it lacing several recreational drugs including marijuana, heroin and party drugs.
Chief Supt. Dave Critchley, officer in charge of the Burnaby RCMP, joined Vancouver Police Department Supt. Mike Porteous and Chief Supt. Kevin deBruyckere, head of the RCMP Federal Policing Program in B.C. at the conference.
Critchley said officers with the Burnaby RCMP’s drug section have been working “tirelessly” on this initiative with investigators from the Vancouver Police Department for about four months.
“Fentanyl-laced drugs can not only lead to overdoses but, as we have experienced, those involved in the trafficking of these drugs do not hesitate to use violence against those they feel are hindering their activities,” he said.
A brazen shooting at 3:43 p.m. on Dec. 29 in a home in the 4100 block of Victory Street in South Burnaby is just one violent example of the dangers of the fentanyl drug trade, according to Critchley.
“The alleged shooter, who has now been charged and remains in custody, was believed to be involved in the drug trade and was a main target in this project,” he added.
In addition to the hefty amount of drugs seized during the recent busts in Burnaby, Vancouver and North Vancouver, officers also seized $215,000 in cash, a pill press, 503,000 coloured pills yet to be identified, various other drugs including steroids, drug paraphernalia, seven vehicles, four guns, two replica guns and one bulletproof vest. Additional warrants have also been issued for suspects who were not arrested when police executed the search warrants.
