UPDATE Six suspects facing charges after major drug lab bust
Suspects are going to court this week after charges were approved in one of the largest illicit drug labs ever found in B.C., a facility raided by police in Lumby two years ago.
RCMP say the lab on Trinity Valley Road was busted on Oct. 19, 2018, with five B.C. men and another from Alberta charged, and two of the B.C. suspects on the run from the law.
The other four men are expected to appear in a Kelowna courtroom Oct. 27.
Police say large quantities of methamphetamine and fentanyl were seized in the 2018 raid, along with hundreds of litres of chemicals.
Wooden folding table holding glass cooking vessels on hot plates at suspected drug lab in Lumby (RCMP photo).
Removal and disposal of the chemicals is expected to cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.
“In this instance, there was a very large amount of synthetic waste by-product that had yet to be disposed which posed a significant risk to the local farms and residents living in the area,” said Supt Bert Ferreira, Officer in Charge of the Federal RCMP Border Integrity teams in BC. “Mitigating environmental contamination was one of the key factors in the timing of the warrant execution.”
Michael McMorris, Robyn Bryson, Trent Fussi, Michael Harvey, Tyson Kopp and Michael Piggott all face several counts of unlawfully possessing chemicals and equipment, possession of a controlled substance for the purpose of trafficking (methamphetamine and fentanyl), and production of a controlled substance (methamphetamine and fentanyl). Bryson and Fussi both face an additional charge of flight from police.
Bryson and Fussi remain at large with endorsed warrants for their arrest. If you know their whereabouts, call your local police or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) to report it anonymously.