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Royal Canadian Mounted Police

Death and dollar signs: how organized crime groups profit from the illicit synthetic drug market

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Organized crime groups are benefitting from Canada's synthetic drug crisis. The illicit drug market is very fluid, adapting to both demand and counter-drug efforts. Although many drugs are imported and/or smuggled from abroad, organized crime groups in Canada have historically produced and manufactured illicit drugs in Canada from cannabis to methamphetamines and have now expanded into highly toxic and highly lethal synthetic drugs such as fentanyl.

What are illicit synthetic drugs?

Illicit synthetic drugs, referred to as "synthetics", are any substance of synthetic origin with psychoactive effects available on the illicit drug market and/or used for non-medical purposes. Illicit fentanyl (a type of synthetic opioid) and its analogues Footnote 1 have become the most prevalent synthetic drugs on the illicit market. Currently, more potent synthetic drugs such as benzodiazepines and nitazenes are circulating in Canada's illicit drug markets.

Do you know what is in your drugs?

It is impossible to know what substances are present or their potency. Illicit synthetics are often sold in pill forms that mimic legitimate pharmaceutical medications, with very different ingredients than what might be expected. Organized crime groups purposely cut the illicit drugs supply with adulterants (active ingredients to mimic or enhance effects) and co-occurring substances (additional undeclared drugs) to:

  • increase the addictive properties
  • reduce the cost of production
  • dilute the purity
  • enhance, prolong, or alter the effects.

Buyer beware

Even if you are an occasional user, you may still be inadvertently exposed to fentanyl or other, even more toxic synthetics. Health Canada reported that between 2018 and 2022, over 40% of overdose deaths were caused from cocaine laced with fentanyl. The opioid toxicity death rate is approximately 18 deaths a day in Canada.

Organized crime groups dominate the synthetic drug market

There are over 4,000 organized crime groups currently operating in Canada, and most are involved in the sale of illicit drugs. These groups import pre-made synthetics and materials to make synthetics, which has led to an increase in the presence and production of fentanyl and methamphetamine domestically. This allows organized crime groups to have a steady supply of drugs. Organized crime groups predominantly involved in the illicit synthetic drug market include:

Deadly associates

80% of organized crime groups are linked and/or collaborate through common associates. For example, one group may provide precursors and money laundering services, while the other group produces and distributes illicit drugs. By working together, organized crime groups can expand their illicit drug trade both within Canada and internationally.

Buying synthetics supports organized crime groups

When purchasing and consuming illicit synthetic drugs, you are contributing to the crime cycle in your community. The trafficking of illicit synthetic drugs is a billion-dollar industry for organized crime groups, where profits are used to fund other illegal activities and to establish an entrenched and lasting criminal presence in communities. It also allows these groups to exploit and establish businesses in multiple sectors to facilitate and obfuscate their criminal enterprises. The top crimes committed by organized crime groups in Canadian communities include:

  • fraud
  • motor vehicle theft
  • drug trafficking and production
  • assault
  • break and enter
  • mischief

Synthetic drugs are in your backyard

The production and distribution of synthetic drugs now stretches from coast to coast across Canada. While still primarily located in major cities such as Vancouver (British Columbia), Toronto (Ontario), and Montréal (Québec), distributors and clandestine labs Footnote 5 are creating strongholds in more rural and residential communities. Here were some notable incidents in 2024-2025, showing how pervasive illicit synthetic drugs are in Canadian communities:

  • In July 2024 , two organized crime groups believed to be involved in the drug trade were reported to be operating in Hay River, Northwest Territories. Shootings in the community were believed to be tied to the conflict between these groups, and a few months prior, a fentanyl analogue was newly observed in this community.
  • In the summer of 2024 , police located and dismantled two clandestine labs in Drummondville and Dixville, Quebec. Hundreds of thousands of blue pills resembling pharmaceutical oxycodone were seized. However, testing showed that the pills contained protonitazepyne, a synthetic opioid more potent than fentanyl. 
  • In 2024, two clandestine labs and a related facility storing chemicals believed to be used in the production of illicit synthetics were discovered and dismantled in Falkland and Enderby , British Columbia. The properties contained chemical precursors and fentanyl totaling over 95 million doses. To date, the Falkland labs remains one of the largest and most sophisticated clandestine labs to be dismantled in Canada.
  • In January 2025 , police in Saskatchewan seized eight kilograms of fentanyl powder, an equivalent of over a million doses, during a traffic stop near Swift Current, Saskatchewan. The suspects were traveling from Alberta.
  • In 2025, a joint operation between the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) disrupted a synthetic drug trafficking network in Ontario. CBSA officers intercepted multiple shipments of synthetic drugs from China destined for Mississauga. This intelligence led the RCMP to seize nitazenes and other illicit substances from a private residence in the area.
  • In February 2025, the RCMP dismantled a clandestine lab hidden in a room under a residential garage in Gore, Quebec, a small municipality in the Laurentians. A pill press, chemicals and precursors used to produce methamphetamine pills were found. The police estimate there were enough supplies and chemicals to yield millions of methamphetamine pills. Four individuals were arrested.

Law enforcement efforts have successfully targeted and disrupted international trafficking networks in Canadian communities, but more can be done. As community members, you play a critical role in recognizing and reporting suspicious behaviour in your area.

Reporting

Canadian law enforcement organizations are responsible for the disruption and enforcement of illegal activities related to synthetics. If you suspect that someone may be producing or selling synthetics illegally or engaging in organized crime activity, report any incident or suspicious activity to your local police.

Reporting to your local police helps local and federal law enforcement:

  • enforce mandated jurisdictional legislation (municipal, provincial, and federal codes)
  • better understand the scope of organized crime's involvement in illegal synthetic drug activities
  • inform for disruption, deterrence, and public protection efforts.

References

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