'Highly sophisticated' fentanyl 'superlab' shut down in Alberta

Alberta authorities say they caught a fentanyl "cook" red-handed in the kitchen at a rural property last month. 

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Investigators at Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams (ALERT) believe the "superlab" outside Valleyview, 300 kilometres northwest of Edmonton, was responsible for producing bulk quantities of fentanyl for at least two years, possibly multiple kilograms every seven-to-eight-day cook cycle.

ALERT says it took its own officers and Mounties four days to search and tear down the "highly sophisticated" lab on Oct. 2. 

They found seven kilograms of processed fentanyl, worth an estimated street value of $700,000. 

They also found 4,200 litres of what is believed to be fentanyl precursor chemicals and 1,500 litres of chemical waste from production, in addition to tens of thousands of dollars in equipment like rotary evaporators, large reaction vessels, and industrial mixers. 

ALERT won't say how it came to investigate the farm. 

"The majority of the neighbours were surprised when they found out," said Edmonton Police Service Insp. Angela Kemp, who leads ALERT's organized crime team, during a press conference on Friday. 

"It goes to show how labs like this are very clandestine. … So if anyone has any awareness questions about suspicious activity, please let us know or your local police."

As ALERT believes the lab was a significant source of fentanyl in Alberta and western Canada, Kemp said the seizure will "impact" fentanyl distribution and sale. 

1 arrested

Stephen Mogg, 55, from Kelowna, B.C., was arrested during the October search warrant and is accused of production of a controlled substance and possession of fentanyl for the purpose of trafficking. 

He does not have "much" of a criminal record but is "very much entrenched in the criminal lifestyle," as Kemp put it. 

ALERT is still investigating the lab's connection to a "larger interprovincial organized crime group" operating throughout western Canada that it believes not only deals in drug production, but also chemical importation and wholesale distribution. 

When asked on Friday whether the lab was connected to one recently shut down in B.C., believed to be the "largest and most sophisticated ever in Canada," ALERT said it has reached out to that province's police but so far has not confirmed any link. 

ALERT considers two micrograms of fentanyl a lethal dose. 

The seized fentanyl "paints a very scary picture of what was taking place in Valleyview and what was being pumped into our communities," Kemp told reporters. 

"We can only hypothesize over how many lives were lost, how many families were ruined, and how many overdoses could be linked back to the superlab." 

With files from CTV News Edmonton's Amanda Anderson