Toronto, 1 November 2024: Canadian police have dismantled what is being called the largest drug network in the nation’s history, with the arrest of Punjab-origin suspect Gaganpreet Randhawa, identified as the network’s prime operator.
Randhawa, who remains in custody, faces multiple charges related to drugs and firearms in connection to the transnational crime group behind a sophisticated “super lab” producing fentanyl and methamphetamine.
Investigators uncovered an arsenal during the operation, seizing 89 firearms, including 45 handguns, 21 AR-15-style rifles, and submachine guns, many of which were loaded. Authorities also confiscated explosives, ammunition, silencers, high-capacity magazines, body armor, and $500,000 in cash, indicating the network’s extensive reach and preparation.
The “super lab,” located in Falkland, British Columbia, is described as one of the largest and most advanced in Canada’s history, capable of producing massive quantities of illegal drugs with potential expansion into other illicit substances.
Assistant Commissioner David Teboul, RCMP’s federal policing commander for the Pacific Region, detailed the investigation during a media briefing, stating, “Months of intense investigation into this transnational organized crime group led us to the most sophisticated drug super lab ever uncovered in Canada.”
Beginning on October 25, RCMP Federal investigators conducted coordinated raids across Metro Vancouver, executing search warrants on the Falkland super lab and several linked sites in Surrey, British Columbia. The operation, spanning months of intelligence gathering, marked a major strike against organized drug trafficking networks in Canada.
