Vancouver police seize nearly $8 million in fentanyl, cocaine from lab in Richmond home

Vancouver police say they have seized $7.8-million's worthoffentanyl and cocaine after dismantling a lab operating inside a house in a residential Richmond neighbourhood.

The police department's organized crime sectionlaunched a project in January focused "on a group of criminals that were manufacturing and trafficking illicit drugs at various locations throughout the region," wrote police in a news release Wednesday.

The investigation led them to thefentanyl lab. Police then executed a search warrant to dismantle the lab and seized more than seven kilograms of suspected fentanyl, 800 grams of methamphetamines, and $39,000 in cash from the lab, according to police.

A man arrested near the lab was found having an additional 15 kilograms of suspected fentanyl, along with two kilograms of cocaine and about $48,000 in cash in a nearby vehicle, police said.

"While the results of this investigation are impressive, there is much more work that needs to be done to address B.C.'s overdose crisis and the criminals that profit from it," wrote Insp.Phil Heard, commanding officer of VPD'sorganized crime section, in a statement.

The drugs were destined for distribution in the Lower Mainland and on Vancouver Island, according to police.

The police department says three men initially arrested have been released pending completion of the investigation.

Charges related to production of controlled substances, and possession of controlled substances for the purpose of trafficking, will be recommended against the suspects.