A fentanyl production lab working out of a southeast Edmonton home has been shut down, and two arrested and charged following a months-long ALERT investigation.
ALERT said the home, located in the Silverberry neighbourhood, was searched on August 8. Inside, investigators found a lab where fentanyl was being processed to appear like heroin.
Two kilograms of processed fentanyl was seized. If it was sold as heroin, ALERT said it had an estimated value of $800,000.
Inspector Marc Cochlin with ALERT said investigators had seen dealers passing off fentanyl as other drugs before, but this case is a first.
“This is one of the first times we’ve encountered a production lab specifically set up to produce fentanyl that would be sold under false pretenses,” Insp. Cochlin said in a statement. “It’s alarming to see producers harboring such a blatant disregard for the safety of their consumers and for the safety of the community as a whole.”
Investigators also found 500 grams of fentanyl powder, five kilograms of a buffing agent and $900 cash proceeds of crime. A 2011 Mercedes-Benz sedan was also seized and has been submitted to the provincial civil forfeiture office for review.
The investigation started in December 2017.
The home has been inspected by Alberta Health Services and declared unfit for human habitation, and the HazMat team from Edmonton Fire Rescue was called in to help ALERT and Edmonton Police Service officers on the scene.
Two males were arrested: Dylan Vande Gutche, 21, and Robert Burke, 18. Each faces charges of possession of a controlled substance for the purposes of trafficking and possession of proceeds of crime. More charges are pending.
