'Highly sophisticated' drug superlab busted in Alberta, Kelowna man charged

A Kelowna man has been charged after a drug superlab was dismantled in Alberta last month.

According to the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team (ALERT), a search warrant was executed on Oct. 2 at a rural property outside of Valleyview, which is about 350 kilometres northwest of Edmonton.

It took around 70 police officers, scientists, analysts, and other emergency personnel four days searching the property and taking down the “highly sophisticated” drug lab.

Seven kilograms of fentanyl was seized along with 4,200 litres of suspected fentanyl precursor chemicals and 1,500 litres of chemical waste used in production, a news release from ALERT said.

Industrial grade and “highly” specialized lab equipment, estimated to be worth tens of thousands of dollars” was also seized.

According to ALERT, the street value of the fentanyl is estimated at $700,000 and could have yielded an estimated 500,000 fatal doses.

“ALERT believes the superlab had been in continuous operation for a period of at least two years, potentially producing multi-kilogram quantities of fentanyl per cook cycle, with each cycle taking approximately seven to eight days,” the news release said.

When the search warrant was executed, one person was arrested and is alleged to be the “cook” of the lab.

Stephen Mogg, a 55-year-old Kelowna man, was charged with production of a controlled substance and possession of fentanyl for the purpose of trafficking.

Investigators said it was believed that active fentanyl production was happening when the warrant was carried out.

ALERT said it is believed that the lab is connected to a larger interprovincial organized crime group operating in Western Canada.

Twenty-three days after the Alberta drug lab was busted, the Pacific Region RCMP Federal Policing program dismantled Canada's “largest and most sophisticated” drug superlab in Falkland, BC.

The lab in Falkland was connected to another operation in Enderby where more than 30 tonnes of chemicals that investigators said were to be used in the production of meth was dismantled in early October.