iN PHOTOS: RCMP raid ‘massive’ fentanyl drug lab in rural North Okanagan

Four men are due to appear in court in Kelowna tomorrow after a police raid that took place two years ago in Lumby uncovered one of the biggest drug laboratories ever found in B.C.

According to a RCMP media release the raid took place Oct. 19, 2018, at a property on Trinity Valley Road, Lumby, which contained a "massive clandestine laboratory."

Police found large quantities of drugs, precursor chemicals for making illicit drugs, and waste materials left over from production. Police found 660 grams of fentanyl and 125 litres of solutions containing both fentanyl and 4-anilino-N-phenethylpiperidine – a chemical used to produce fentanyl.

The five police units involved found approximately 48 kilograms of ephedrine HCl, 50 kilograms of solutions containing ephedrine HCl, 4.5 kilograms of methamphetamine HCl, 556 litres of solutions containing methamphetamine, 10 kilograms of 4-anilino-N-phenethylpiperidine (ANPP), and 2.95 kilograms of nandrolone phenylpropionate. All chemicals used in the production of illicit drugs.

"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," Federal RCMP Border Integrity Supt. Bert Ferreira said in the release. "Mitigating environmental contamination was one of the key factors in the timing of the warrant execution."

Following the raid, five B.C. men and an Alberta man were arrested, two of which remain at large.

Michael McMorris, Michael Harvey, Tyson Kopp, and Michael Piggott are scheduled to appear in court in Kelowna, Oct. 27, charged with 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). Two other men, Robyn Bryson and Trent Fussi, face the same charges plus, Flight from Police, and remain at large and have endorsed warrants for their arrest.

Anyone with any information regarding their whereabouts is asked to call their local police or anonymously call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).

Synthetic drug production, including fentanyl and methamphetamine, is recognized as one of the highest threats to national public safety, the RCMP said.

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