EDMONTON — Police arrested two people in connection to a New Year’s Eve drug bust that resulted in a $435,000 seizure and a fentanyl lab being dismantled.
On Dec. 31, the Edmonton Drug and Gang Enforcement Unit searched three homes believed to be connected to a drug lab.
Police conducted a search warrant at home near Woodvale Road in southeast Edmonton, where they found a fentanyl pill-making lab and a list of drugs:
- 5,996 green fentanyl pills, with a street value of $239,840, as well as 11.2 grams of powder
- 2,930 white fentanyl pills, worth $117,200 on the street, plus 130.4 grams of powder
- 2,145 counterfeit Cialis pills, with a street value of $42,900
- 174 counterfeit Viagra pills
- 0.8 grams of fentanyl powder
- 28 grams of MDMA
- 183 grams Benzocaine
- 273 grams of Phenacetin
- 33.8 grams of Methylamine HCL
Police also found a small amount of fentanyl in a home near Lakewood Road in southeast Edmonton, as well as $7,750 cash in a home in Spruce Grove.
“The subjects were using rudimentary mixing devices which will not guarantee an accurate distribution of the powders inside including fentanyl. They’re also using the same pill press for all the pills being produced,” Insp. Dwayne Lakusta, Edmonton Drug and Gang Enforcement Unit, said.
“What this means is that any one pill can contain a lethal dosage of fentanyl.”
Police have seen a steady increase of fentanyl use across the province, and parents need to educate their children about the danger of taking one of the pills, Lakusta added.
“If we continue to see this trend continue, we will see possibly a death a day in Alberta due to fentanyl use,” Lakusta said.
Anthony Neville, 27, was charged with production of a controlled substance, possession for the purpose of trafficking and possession of proceeds of crime over $5,000.
Eric MacDonnell, 26, was charged with production of a controlled substance and possession for the purpose of trafficking.
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