CBC
MARKHAM, ONTARIO, CANADA -- Police in Markham, north of Toronto, have made what they describe as Canada’s largest-ever seizure involving the drug ecstasy.
The investigation, which began earlier this month, ended in raids on clandestine laboratories used to make the drug. Seven men from British Columbia have been arrested.
Markham police Chief Armand La Barge says the drugs would have yielded a huge profit for their manufacturers. “This seizure is, by conservative estimates, valued in excess of $100 million and could conceivably yield a profit of half a billion dollars.”
Police searched three houses last week and say what they found inside was secret ecstasy drug-making laboratories, powdered substances and drug paraphernalia.
La Barge said police now see this as a “war.”
“We are engaged in a war against those individuals that have invaded our communities and set up sophisticated clandestine labs and marijuana grow [operations]. This is a war we cannot afford to lose because the security of this community is at risk.”
The investigation began earlier in the month when police traced chemicals used to make ecstasy to an organized crime ring.
Police say this bust has dealt a huge blow not only to the drug trafficking industry in the Toronto area, but in the U.S., too.
“The demand is great in Canada but, more importantly, in the United States. We’re confident a lot of this product was destined for the United States,” said La Barge.
-- Canadian Broadcasting Corporation