Mexican drug cartels have marked territory in Canada by running fentanyl superlabs

In an exclusive interview with a Sinaloa cartel member in Vancouver, B.C., I heard the extent of fentanyl production in Canada

Mexican cartels have officially made Canada ground zero for fentanyl production. Over the last five years, Sinaloa has sent people up north to shift operations for producing and trafficking drugs within Canada and the neighboring states in the U.S. 

At the beginning of the summer, I came into contact with a man in charge of major drug operations in Canada on behalf of the Sinaloa cartel. 

He told me despite what government officials and criminal organizations are saying, Mexican cartels have fully infiltrated the Canadian drug trade without having to cross any borders. He says Los Chapitos sent members to Canada, particularly to the west coast, in British Columbia, to run labs and work on large operation drug trafficking—not to be here dealing a simple 8 ball of cocaine.

“They sent people from Sinaloa to Canada close to the American states [the cartel] is trying to reach. It makes trafficking easier and closer.”

Of course, living in Vancouver my whole life, I noticed a shift in the Mexican diaspora here. Still, I was so accustomed to the news of violence and crime within the preexisting gangs such as Brothers Keepers, Red Scorpion, and Hells Angels, that my naiveté kept me from noticing the full-blown cartel operations taking place in the city I once called home. 

Don’t get me wrong, these local gangs still play a role in the production and trafficking the cartels have established here. Local Asian gangsters, particularly of Chinese and Vietnamese heritage are aiding in procuring the precursors, bringing them from Asia and supplying them to the Mexican cartel-run labs to produce the surprisingly easy-to-make fentanyl, my source told me. 

“The Asians are getting the chemicals, they have the contacts, mostly in China and they bring it here for us.”

Easy come, easy go, right? Fentanyl is so simple to make, that a high school chemistry teacher could probably cook it up in their kitchen. On the other hand, it is so deadly, B.C.'s provincial health officer became emotional during a COVID press conference in 2020 over the sheer amount of lives that were lost to the drug. 

The Public Health Agency of Canada reports that about 44,600 Canadians died from toxic drug overdoses between 2016 and 2023, with fentanyl involved in 80% of the 8,000 overdose deaths recorded in 2023.

And it seems the number of large-scale clandestine drug lab busts in Canada is becoming more and more regular. 

A recent operation in Drummondville, Quebec resulted in the seizure of hundreds of thousands of counterfeit pills containing potent synthetic opioids. Police say the bust is part of a broader crackdown on clandestine labs.

Meanwhile, just yesterday in Metro Vancouver five men were charged after RCMP busted a drug “superlab.”

Police seized 49 kilograms of MDMA (ecstasy) along with the chemicals to make another 80 kilograms.

However, police have not released or will not release information on who is running these labs and operations. A recent CBC story discussing domestic fentanyl production alluded to the Hells Angels being in charge but the Sinaloa cartel is responsible for the superlabs and majority of fentanyl on Canadian streets, according to my source.

So far, they have been laying low, under the radar, if you google or Reddit search cartels and Canada, nothing of true substance links the two, especially not to the extent of figuring out these are the very people running the Canadian drug trade. 

But, this works for the cartel. 

We know the Mexican drug cartels are international with their role in fentanyl, making headlines in Australia and Europe already, but Canada? For the longest time, drugs were being trafficked northbound, and that’s changed.

I spoke to a retired Vancouver police officer of more than two decades who told me over the past few years it has become incredibly obvious that fentanyl production became local.

“Of course, fentanyl is being made here. Look at the business model. It’s a business at the end of the day and the goal is to make money. These people involved will find a way to increase profits and reduce costs and risks. Making it here checks all those boxes.”

A tell-tale sign on the streets and for regular drug users seems to be a lack of heroin.

“I don’t want to do fentanyl anymore, I wish I could go back to being a weekend warrior on heroin. But that just doesn’t exist. If you happen to come across some heroin unicorn it’s probably still got some fent or its too much fucking cash,” one man told me at the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users office on Hastings Street.

East Hastings Street. Let’s talk about it because this is a community brutally impacted by the soar in fentanyl. 

Recently, a lot of my readership has become American, so for those of you not privy to this infamous Canadian street, think of Skid Row in L.A.

The thing is, police, narcos, and journalists alike can talk all the shit we want about who is doing what, where, and why but when it comes to the illegal drug trade people are dying and their livelihoods are destroyed. 

This means, that when fentanyl is being made in Canada, it becomes cheaper, easier to traffick, and it kills more people due to the sheer accessibility. 

Because of this, there has been a push to make drug testing more accessible, with a private storefront on East Hastings Street offering free, same-day results drug testing. Get Your Drugs Tested has even gone viral for finding new strains of fentanyl and using social media to warn people of their findings.

They check for fentanyl and benzodiazepines, which some argue can be even more deadly as benzos do not react to Narcan. 

U.S.A 🦅

The U.S. is now the meat in the middle of the sandwich, with fentanyl coming into the country from the south and the north, accessibility is unmatched. 

Fentanyl has had a devastating impact on the U.S., driving a surge in overdose deaths, with over 70,000 deaths in 2022 alone, making fentanyl a national emergency.

The Biden administration took what it called a “firm stance,” prioritizing the fight against fentanyl. The administration implemented stricter border controls to prevent the influx of fentanyl particularly from sources in Mexico and China. Of course, with cartels moving to Canada which has somewhat of an unassuming border, the northern entrance has been kept seemingly status quo.

The DEA named fentanyl the top local drug threat in Seattle, which is just a three-and-a-half-hour drive from Vancouver.

The agency has recognized due to its location and proximity to Canada, that Seattle is a hub for narcotics distribution throughout the Northwest. 

The Seattle Field Division seized 3.7 million fentanyl pills and more than 280 pounds of fentanyl powder throughout Washington, Oregon, Alaska, and Idaho in 2023.

Although law enforcement is picking up the heat on clandestine labs due to the production of pills, my source tells me this is still just the beginning. 

Now that the cartel is here and has marked their territory, they are here to stay.