The dirty money behind Canada’s deadly fentanyl trade

And, Sgt. Sarbjit Sangha, of B.C.’s Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit, said the anti-gang agency is preparing a report to Crown counsel recommending charges in connection with the Bradner Road lab in Abbotsford.

Last month, the B.C. government filed a lawsuit saying the Bradner Road property, as well as a second one in Enderby, should be forfeited for links to criminal activity.

The statement of claim named Stephan Beaudry as the target of the CFSEU investigation, as well as five others it alleged were linked to him, and three companies.

A source said some of those involved have connections to the Horsemen, a motorcycle club linked to the more-notorious Hells Angels.

Nor has anyone faced charges for another large-scale lab, raided by police on Wilson Road in Chilliwack on May 1. It contained even more fentanyl than police seized in Falkland, as well as tonnes of precursor chemicals. A civil forfeiture lawsuit was filed against the property in September.

Canada’s fentanyl czar, Kevin Brosseau, was not available for an interview, but provided a statement about Canada’s progress in tackling the fentanyl crisis.

“Canada is taking a comprehensive, whole-of-government response to the fentanyl crisis that includes advancing and passing key legislation, working with U.S. partners to tighten border security, disrupting criminal networks and precursor supply chains, funding prevention, treatment, recovery, and other community-based supports, and driving co-ordinated action through strong and sustainable partnerships,” the statement said.

Brosseau noted that between June 2025 and June 2026, “we have seen the seizure of approximately 1.37 kilograms of fentanyl at the border by the Canada Border Services Agency, the seizure of 134.65 kilograms of fentanyl across the country by the RCMP and 4,930 charges and arrests involving fentanyl or fentanyl analogues.”

Health Canada spokesperson Hélène-Annie Lavoie said in a statement that “all known precursor chemicals that can be used to make fentanyl are tightly controlled in Canada.”

“Importing these chemicals into Canada is illegal unless authorized by Health Canada through its robust precursor control framework, which requires both a licence and an import permit.”

She said Health Canada “continuously monitors compliance with the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act and its regulations and can suspend or revoke licences or permits when warranted.”

She also said “there is no evidence to suggest that licensed Canadian companies are a source of precursor chemicals being used in illegal fentanyl production.”

However, in 2023, the U.S. government sanctioned former Health Canada licence holder Bobby Shah, alleging his chemical business was linked to an international network of companies producing fentanyl and other illicit synthetic drugs.

The RCMP seized more than 17 tonnes of chemicals from Shah’s Maple Ridge home a year later, including the ingredients for the deadly synthetic opioid.

Shah has not faced criminal charges, though the B.C. director of civil forfeiture has filed a claim against his $3.6 million house.

The lawsuit alleged Shah and other sanctioned parties were affiliated with a China-based criminal organization, dubbed “the syndicate,” that “manufactured and distributed large quantities of illicit drugs, opioid additives, and precursor chemicals used in the production of narcotics such as fentanyl and methamphetamine, as well as laundered the proceeds of crime, at an international level.”