B.C. police raid 'heavily fortified headquarters' of Mexican cartel-linked group

Members of the RCMP’s federal police say they have arrested three men in B.C. for their alleged role in a “transnational organized crime group” connected to Mexican drug cartels plotting to import cocaine into Canada.

Part of the enforcement was a raid on the group’s “heavily fortified headquarters” in Surrey on Sept. 23, the RCMP Federal Policing program’s Pacific Region branch says.

“During the warrant execution, investigators discovered the residence to be surrounded by compound fencing, steel gates, and razor wires. The entry doors were fully covered by metal shutters, with the interior and exterior of the residence being equipped with video and audio monitoring systems,” reads a news release issued Wednesday.

Police say they seized 23 firearms, including handguns, assault rifles, shotguns and hunting rifles; “several thousand” rounds of ammunition; “multi-kilos” of fentanyl, methamphetamine, ketamine and other opioids; $15,000 in cash; and apparel issued by law enforcement. 

Two of the suspects are Canadian citizens with links to “virtually every criminal gang” in B.C. and one is a Mexican national, said spokesperson Cpl. Arash Seyed at a news conference Wednesday. The Mexican is in Canada legally, he added.

“Criminal organizations try to get foothold anywhere where there is a market. So they're opportunistic, operate very much like business ventures,” he said. “In this particular case, there were a lot of local criminal gangs and organized crime groups who may actually not be very friendly to each other. However, they would have been involved in this drug operation and venture.”

The suspects have all been released while Mounties pursue drug and firearms charges. Authorities are not disclosing identifying information about the men until they are officially charged.

Seyed said the drugs seized aren’t believed to be the main product for the group, rather its goal was large-scale cocaine importation—an operation that failed largely because a main leader of the involved cartel was arrested in the U.S. last summer.

Mounties say they first became aware of the planned operation in 2021 and “immediately” started disrupting it, and touted their role in preventing the cartel from setting up shop in British Columbia.

“This criminal organization was working on a large-scale venture, and it never came to fruition, and any other type of criminal activities that they were about to commit, we have been disrupting those so they basically have been dormant. They've been trying to get this off the ground, but unfortunately for them, it did not work,” Sayed said.

Police did not provide specifics of where in Surrey the raided residence is, but insisted the public is safe as there were no “hazards” in the area like schools and the house is now contained.