Following an eight-year-long investigation, the RCMP says the man police believe led a crime group that operated multiple drug labs in Richmond was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
The RCMP’s Drugs and Organized Crime Section says that its investigation targeted a group for operating “large-scale” methamphetamine labs between 2018 and 2020.
Mounties add that a suspected cook also died at one of the sites from exposure to chemicals.
In addition to his jail sentence, Kim World Huang received a lifetime firearms prohibition, forfeiture order for items seized and a DNA order.
Investigators say his girlfriend, Yung Grace Wang, remains wanted on an outstanding warrant.
Police add that the court also sentenced three other people, Liu Song, Zekun Cao, and Anthony Huang Wei Hsu.
While the first two received a two-year minus a day Conditional Sentence Order and a 10-year firearms prohibition, Hsu was sentenced to 6.5 years in jail, received a 10-year firearms ban, a forfeiture order for items seized, and a DNA order.
Officers first launched their investigation following a series of residential fires between 2018 and 2020 in Richmond, which revealed multiple clandestine drug operations.
“Investigators determined the labs were likely being run by an organized group based in Richmond,” police said in a statement.
The suspects were identified and arrested shortly afterwards.
During the arrest, officers seized a crystallization and packaging site, along with significant quantities of synthetic drugs, precursor chemicals, firearms, cash, and production equipment.
“Since this project, the rash of house fires and drug labs has stopped, and an entire criminal group was dismantled,” said Richmond RCMP chief superintendent Dave Chauhan.