Mission RCMP continue to investigate and dismantle a “super” fentanyl lab discovered on Saturday.
Shortly after 6 a.m. on May 18, Mission RCMP were called to an address in the 30000 block of Silverdale Avenue.
When police arrived, they discovered that several objects , including a couch, had been set on fire in front of the house, and there was evidence that a break and enter had occurred.
Police theorize that the fires were set to draw attention to the home.
Officers quickly found indications of a fentanyl lab inside the house, and secured the property for further investigation. No one was at the property when police arrived, and no one has been taken into custody.
Due to the hazardous materials involved, the RCMP’s Clandestine Lab Enforcement and Response team (CLEAR) was called in to assist.
Officers from the CLEAR team worked alongside local police and spent the weekend examining the lab.
Investigators determined that the lab was large enough to be classified as a “super lab”, and had produced numerous batches of fentanyl.
“We are fortunate to have the expertise of the CLEAR team to assist with these sorts of incidents,” said Inspector Ted Lewko, Officer in Charge for Mission RCMP.
“They help to ensure that our local investigators are supported by a wealth of specialized knowledge, and that these labs are dismantled safely.”
While classified as a super lab, the Silverdale Ave. operation was not as big as a fentanyl lab dismantled on Stave Lake Road in October of 2023.
However, there are some similarities between the two incidents.
The lab on Silverdale Ave. had writing on the front of the house (which said RCMP Fent) and on the driveway which police believe was done with the intention of drawing police attention to the property, and of notifying police that a fentanyl lab was operating at the property.
These circumstances are very similar to those surrounding the discovery of the fentanyl lab on Stave Lake Road in Hatzic where gun shots were fired in front of a fentanyl lab, a fire was set on the road, and writing was spray-painted on the street in front of that property.
According to Mission RCMP, it is believed that the person or persons who drew police to the Hatzic lab are the same ones who drew police to the Silverdale lab. Their exact motive for drawing police to the properties remains unclear. Mission RCMP are investigating whether there is any link between the two fentanyl labs, however no link has been confirmed at this time.
The investigation is ongoing, and police will be at the property until later in the week, gathering evidence and removing hazardous materials. Anyone with information about this property, or other drug labs in the Mission area is asked to call Mission RCMP, at 604-826-7161

