Police seized an "enormous amount" of ecstasy pills and several pill presses during an investigation into a large-scale meth lab in a Mississauga industrial complex.
Police discovered the clandestine methamphetamine lab late Tuesday and detectives say it is one of the biggest operations they have ever investigated.
"It is one of largest I've been involved with," Toronto Staff Insp. Don Campbell told reporters at a news conference on Wednesday. "I'm told by other investigators they have never seen one this size."
The ecstasy lab was found in another unit nearby.
Authorities found the labs because of information received during routine traffic stop. The police officer noticed a quantity of drugs in the vehicle and was able to trace them to a Mississauga address near Eglinton Avenue and Dixie Road.
Several units on Sismet Drive, near the meth lab, have been evacuated as a safety precaution.
"We have found an excess of 80 drums of unknown chemicals at the scene," Campbell said. "We are working slowly and cautiously in our assessment of the scene.
Campbell said three chemists are at the scene to try neutralizing active reactions between the chemicals.
He said Toronto police officers are working closely with Peel police, Health Canada and Mississauga Fire. Emergency crews are prepared in case there is a fire or an explosion, he said.
"We have plenty of resources there and an immediate action plan in case something does go wrong," he added.
Campbell said the unit where the lab was discovered was stocked with two cooking kitchens and that the drug labs are the work of a "sophisticated organization."
Investigators will be at the site for the next three days in an effort to gather evidence and clean up the scene.
The owner of the building has been contacted and has been helpful to police, said Campbell.
Four people have been arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit an indictable offence.
