B.C. Moves to Seize Property Linked to Largest Drug Superlab in Canada

The British Columbia Civil Forfeiture Office is moving to seize a rural property in Falkland, B.C., where police uncovered what they described as Canada’s largest and most sophisticated drug superlab.

The forfeiture claim, filed in B.C. Supreme Court, alleges that property owner Michael Driehuyzen "knew or should have known" about the illegal drug production happening on his land. If not, the province argues, he was "willfully blind or reckless" in allowing the property to be used for criminal activity.

Falkland, located 50 kilometres east of Kamloops, B.C., is a small, unincorporated community.

Landowner Denies Involvement

In response to the claim, Driehuyzen denies any knowledge or responsibility for the drug operation and instead places blame on his tenants.

The civil forfeiture office has also named Gaganpreet Singh Randhawa as a defendant. Randhawa was the only person arrested following the superlab’s discovery and is facing multiple drug and weapons charges related to alleged crimes in Surrey and Richmond, B.C..

Randhawa is scheduled to appear in Surrey provincial court on Feb. 21.

$485M in Illegal Drugs Seized

The federal RCMP task force investigating illicit drug production in Canada uncovered the lab in October 2024, describing it as part of a "transnational organized crime group" distributing fentanyl and methamphetamine across Canada and internationally.

Authorities seized:

• 52 kg of fentanyl (potentially lethal doses for millions of people).

• 30 kg of MDMA (ecstasy).

• Several tonnes of precursor chemicals used to manufacture fentanyl and methamphetamine.

• A sophisticated network of hidden security cameras throughout the property.

• High-end equipment, including a 500-kilowatt generator and a mass spectrometer, commonly used in pharmaceutical-grade drug analysis.

The estimated profit from the drugs produced at the lab was $485 million.

Previous Police Raids at Property

Court documents reveal that the same property was previously raided by police in 2015 and 2016 for an illegal cannabis grow operation. Driehuyzen was the owner of the land at the time, according to the claim.

However, Driehuyzen insists he purchased the property using earnings from his work as an electrician and denies that it was ever financed with proceeds of crime.

The B.C. Civil Forfeiture Office is seeking to permanently seize the property under provincial laws aimed at preventing criminals from profiting off illegal activity.