Cops bust secret drug lab near Toronto with over $1 million worth of pills

Police north of Toronto have arrested and charged one suspect after uncovering a clandestine drug lab.

York Regional Police officers responded to an unknown trouble call on the evening of Monday, December at approximately 9:30 p.m..

Upon arriving at a townhouse residence in the area of 16th Avenue and Bayview Avenue, officers located a man on the premises, and later discovered that the unit was being used as a clandestine lab suspected to be pressing oxycodone pills for illicit consumption.

Police later obtained a search warrant for the property, returning the following day to discover alleged evidence of a drug production lab, including 23 kilograms of various powders, 781 litres of liquids, more than 34,000 pills suspected to be oxycodone and various pill-making paraphernalia.

The combined value of the substances is estimated by police to be north of $1 million.

Investigators also recovered "a number" of rounds of 9mm ammunition, though there have been no reports of a firearm recovered.

Zoltan Mootoo, 35, of Markham — who was already on probation at the time of the seizure — has been charged with a laundry list of criminal offences.

These include possesion of a controlled substance, three counts of possession for the purpose of trafficking, possession of an item to produce a substance, careless storage of ammunition and two counts of fail to comply with a probation order.

Police have released a video of the seizure, showing large quanities of bagged pills, labels, and other substances used in the production of these black-market medications.

While the suspect has been charged, police are still seeking aditional information, and members of the public with tips are urged to contact the York Regional Police Guns, Gangs and Drugs Enforcement Unit.