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The Montreal fire department is assisting the RCMP as they continue to investigate locations where they uncovered two clandestine laboratories in Drummondville and Dixville last week.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the RCMP said the Montreal fire department’s hazardous materials unit is helping them decontaminate a residence in Drummondville where they found one of the hidden laboratories used to produce what they allege are counterfeit pharmaceutical pills. Several hundred thousand pills believed to contain protonitazepyne were seized at the residence when it was searched on July 31.
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“Searches also led to the seizure of significant quantities of chemicals used to manufacture illicit pills, one pill press as well as sophisticated equipment for large-scale production,” the RCMP said. “The investigation, launched in May 2024 by the Federal Policing — Eastern Region Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit, resulted in the arrest of four individuals. They were met by our investigators and released pending further proceedings. They may later face charges under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, including production and possession of controlled substances for the purpose of trafficking.”
The residence in Dixville, in the Eastern Townships, was searched on Aug. 2 with assistance from the Sûreté du Québec. A lab was found there as well. The RCMP said they may have seized more than a million pills in all.
The RCMP warned after the Drummondville raid that “some illicit pills intercepted during the investigation by our police officers resembled legitimate oxycodone pills. They were blue and bore the inscription M/30. Laboratory analysis showed, however, that unlike the original drug, the counterfeit pills contained protonitazepyne, a synthetic opioid around 25 times more potent than fentanyl. This drug is a central nervous system depressant. Laboratory analysis will be required to determine whether there is protonitazepyne in the pills seized today.”
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