Canada Border Services Agency officers at the Port of Prince Rupert have seized a record 14 tonnes of chemicals used to make a range of illicit drugs.

It was the third such seizure at the port in the last two years and the largest on record for the CBSA in Prince Rupert, officials said Wednesday.

In early September, CBSA officers examined a shipment originating from China that was declared as glycerin.

Upon further examination of the 552 jugs, CBSA officers found them to contain four chemicals used to make drugs like methamphetamine, MDMA (ecstacy), and gamma-butyrolactone (the date-rape drug).

“This shipment illustrates that large quantities of chemicals, for use in the illicit narcotics industry, continue to be a threat to Canada,” said the CBSA's Prince Rupert operations chief Dan Bubas. “This seizure has prevented the potential manufacture of thousands of kilograms of illegal drugs.”

There have been no arrests associated with this seizure at this time, but the matter remains under investigation.

In 2003, the federal government implemented the new precursor control regulations to respond directly to the increasing diversion of chemicals to the clandestine manufacturing of illicit substances.

The regulatory framework addresses the cross-border trafficking of chemicals by requiring a license and a permit for all imports and exports of class A precursor chemicals.