POLICE SEIZE 6,000 KG, ARREST TRIO

Stash of P2P, used to make meth and ecstasy, worth $10 million

A 6,000-kilo seizure of a precursor chemical used to make ecstasy and
methamphetamine is the biggest interception ever by the Canada Border
Services Agency, communications adviser Faith St. John said Thursday.

Three people have been arrested in connection with the massive
shipment of the chemical P2P -- phenyl 2 propanone -- which is
estimated to be worth almost $10 million, St. John said. The suspects
have been released pending charge approval. All three are known to
police and are believed to have links to an Asian organized crime group.

The CBSA identified the suspicious cargo in 150 boxes hidden in a
shipment of counterfeit Nikes from China that arrived in the Port of
Vancouver in early October. Each box contained a 22-kilo jug of P2P.

The agency contacted the RCMP, which arranged the delivery of the
shipment to a house in the 13000-block of Gilbert Road in Richmond on
Oct. 18. Police later moved in and arrested the two men and a woman on
Nov. 4, executing search warrants at two Richmond houses, one in
Vancouver and another one in Burnaby.

The search warrants yielded another 129 five-gallon containers of P2P,
credit card skimmers, a counterfeiting operation, an identity theft
operation and small amounts of meth and ecstasy.

"Investigators found $50,000 cash and used a police dog to locate
another $80,000. The fraud-related portion of this investigation has
now been turned over to the RCMP's Federal Commercial Crime Section,"
RCMP Const. Michael McLaughlin said.

St. John said the unauthorized importation of P2P and other chemicals
used to make the illicit drugs has been against the law in Canada
since January 2003. An 1,800-kilo shipment of a similar precursor was
intercepted in 2004, with local officials seizing a 4,000-kilo
shipment two years ago.

"P2P's only known pharmaceutical use is in the production of
amphetamine or methamphetamine," McLaughlin said.

He said just to dispose of what was seized will cost an estimated
$60,000.

Once in Canada, precursor chemicals are legal to possess, despite
being outlawed in a number of other countries, including the United
States.

Supt. Pat Fogarty, operations officer of the Combined Forces Special
Enforcement Unit, said criminals try to smuggle the chemicals into
Canada because once here, it is difficult for police to take action.

He said chemicals can be seized if they are found at the site of a
clandestine lab where there is evidence of the production of illicit
drugs.

McLaughlin said the recent interceptions have led to the dismantling
of "a significant criminal operation in Metro Vancouver."