3 men arrested in B.C. have ties to Mexican drug cartels, RCMP say

Three men have been arrested in Surrey, British Columbia, in connection to a transnational organized crime group with ties to Mexican drug cartels. The arrests were made after police searched a home in Surrey on September 23, which was heavily fortified with compound fencing, steel gates, and razor wire. The men were allegedly involved in importing cocaine into Canada.

Cpl. Arash Seyed, speaking at a news conference, revealed that one of the suspects is a Mexican national, while the other two are Canadian citizens with connections to various criminal gangs in British Columbia. The investigation also led to the seizure of 23 guns, thousands of rounds of ammunition, and kilograms of illicit drugs. The suspects have been released, but police are recommending firearms and drug-related charges.

The group is still under investigation, and details about their identities and specific cartel associations are not being disclosed at this time. Seyed emphasized that the main objective was to stop the spread of dangerous drugs in Canadian communities.

The arrests in Surrey are a result of a years-long investigation that began in 2021 when RCMP learned about drug imports into British Columbia. The arrests were also facilitated by the apprehension of another group member by U.S. authorities near the Canadian border in July.

In a separate investigation, police in Burnaby arrested four individuals suspected of trafficking large quantities of drugs, including diverted prescription pills. The arrests followed a four-month investigation into interprovincial drug trafficking, which included search warrants in Coquitlam and Surrey. During the operation, officers seized over 9,500 hydromorphone pills and more than a kilogram of suspected cocaine. The group was reportedly distributing drugs as far as Manitoba and Yukon.

These arrests come on the heels of RCMP’s claim that they had dismantled the largest and most sophisticated drug superlab ever discovered in Canada, located in the British Columbia Interior. The lab was allegedly producing methamphetamine using P2P, a method commonly associated with Mexican cartels.

The developments in Surrey and Burnaby underscore the ongoing efforts by law enforcement to combat organized crime and drug trafficking in the region. The investigations highlight the collaborative nature of policing across borders and the dedication of authorities to disrupt criminal networks that pose a threat to public safety.