VANCOUVER -- Two Metro Vancouver men have been sentenced more than two years after what police at the time called the largest fentanyl seizure in B.C. history.

In 2016, police said they discovered large quantities of illicit drugs, weapons and money while executing search warrants in Richmond, Surrey and Burnaby.

"In the Burnaby location, the police search revealed a large-scale fentanyl laboratory where fentanyl was being combined with a cutting agent, coloured brown to replicate heroin and washed in acetic acid to make it smell like heroin," Delta police said in a statement Tuesday.

Investigators also found 4.5 kilograms of heroin, 12 kilograms of cocaine, more than 45,000 oxycodone pills, a kilogram of methamphetamines and 125 grams of pure fentanyl analog.

A total of nine firearms and $1.5 million in cash were also seized from the properties.

Authorities also discovered W-18 in the lab, a drug health experts estimate is about 100 times more potent than fentanyl. It was the first time the synthetic opioid was found in B.C.

Scott Pipping, 36, and 28-year-old Adam Summers were arrested in March 2016 following "a lengthy investigation" and have remained in custody since.

They both pleaded guilty to a combined 17 charges ranging from trafficking in a controlled substance, possession for the purpose of trafficking, possession of a prohibited firearm and possession of a restricted firearm without a licence.

On June 29, Pipping, a Surrey resident, was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Summers was handed a five-year sentence for his involvement. He is from Delta.

“These are significant sentences and they reflect the scope and impact of this lab,” Delta Police Chief Neil Dubord said in a statement.

“I’m very proud of the work of our officers in shutting this lab down, and have no doubt that many lives were saved as a result of their work.”

Illicit drug overdoses claimed 1,422 lives in B.C. last year. Fentanyl remained the main cause of most fatalities, and was detected in about 81 per cent of deaths, according to B.C.'s chief coroner.