B.C. anti-gang probe nets drug charges against 8 suspects in Metro Vancouver

An aerial view of Vancouver in an undated photo. (File photo)

British Columbia's anti-organized crime task force says five men and three women in Metro Vancouver are facing a raft of drug-trafficking charges after a months-long investigation focusing on the production of fentanyl and MDMA.

The Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit of B.C. opened the investigation in December 2022 alongside Mounties from the Langley RCMP detachment.

In a statement Thursday, the CFSEU-BC said the case quickly expanded into multiple jurisdictions around the Lower Mainland as investigators uncovered alleged links to organized crime.

In April and May 2023, investigators executed search warrants at 10 properties in Langley, Coquitlam, Surrey and Richmond.

Eight people were arrested during the searches and police seized more than a tonne of chemical precursors used in the production of fentanyl and MDMA, according to the statement

Fifteen kilograms of MDMA were also seized in the raids, as were 8.5 kilograms of fentanyl, a kilogram of cocaine, two guns, five vehicles and more than $40,000 in cash, police said.

Investigators estimate the volume of precursors and equipment seized could have been used to produce $3.475 million worth of fentanyl and $2.96 million worth of MDMA.

Also seized in the searches were 4,600 pharmaceutical pills – including oxycodone, hydromorphone and fentanyl – and jewelry valued at more than $200,000, the statement said.

31 charges approved

More than 14 months after the suspects were arrested, a total of 31 charges were approved against them.

Raymond Brown, a 31-year-old man from Surrey, is facing four charges, including trafficking and conspiracy to traffic drugs. Nathanual Brown, a 27-year-old man from Surrey, is facing seven charges, including possession of a prohibited firearm and conspiracy to traffic drugs.

Jacob Brown, a 22-year-old man from Coquitlam, is charged with four offences, including trafficking and possessing drugs for a criminal organization. Riley Johal, a 21-year-old Surrey man, is facing four charges, including possession and conspiracy to traffic drugs.

Robert Brienza, a 30-year-old man from Langley, is facing four counts of trafficking a controlled substance. Omega Lanek, a 28-year-old woman from Coquitlam, is charged with four offences, including conspiracy to traffic drugs and possession for the purpose of trafficking for a criminal organization.

Danica Jalbert, a 29-year-old Langley woman, is charged with three counts of trafficking drugs. Kristina Suidy, a 28-year-old Langley woman, is facing one count of drug trafficking.

Only Raymond Brown remains in police custody, while the others have been released pending their next court appearance scheduled for Aug. 14 in Surrey provincial court.

"This investigation resulted in the disruption and individuals charged in an alleged drug trafficking operation of an organized crime group manufacturing and trafficking potentially deadly synthetic drugs such as fentanyl in our communities," Insp. Todd Thomas with the CFSEU-BC said in the statement.