Saanich police conducted a routine traffic stop in Gordon Head and the officer recognized the 32-year-old Saanich man as a known offender who was in breach of conditions. Upon searching the rented Nissan Rogue, the officer found unmarked containers of chemicals, suspected to be ingredients for cooking up crystal meth, said police spokesman Sgt. Dean Jantzen.

Police also recovered a small amount of crystal meth, a bottle of GHB, production paraphernalia such as pots and stirring mechanisms.

The RCMP specialized team arrived from Vancouver Thursday to inspect the chemicals. Two Mounties, dressed in full hazmat suits, carefully examined samples from three jerry cans to determine whether the chemicals are those typically used for making crystal meth.

The man is being held in custody on charges related to breach of recognizance, but drug charges have not yet been laid.

UPDATE: Lower Mainland ecstasy death linked to lethal chemical Abbotsford teen loses her life after taking the drug ecstasy Abbotsford Police launch series about ecstasy and other street drugs Another ecstasy overdose in Abbotsford; woman battles for her life ECSTASY: 'If I don't stop this, I'm going to die' Ecstasy agony: Abbotsford couple speaks out about death of 20-year-old son

That’s the message from the Abbotsford Police Department and the Fraser Health Authority in the wake of 18 ecstasy deaths in B.C. since the start of 2011.

This week, APD launched Operation X, an initiative intended to warn and inform teens and parents about the danger of street drugs, including ecstasy. Dr. Victoria Lee, medical health officer for the FHA, says they are also actively working with schools to get that message out.

Ecstasy has taken hold in a young demographic who might not fully understand the risk. Lee reiterates that the safest and wisest choice is to not take it at all. “You can do permanent damage from the first time,” Lee advises. “Even one is unsafe.”

Ecstasy-related emergencies are bad news, agrees Dr. Roy Purssell. The medical director of the B.C. Drug and Poison Information Centre is also an emergency physician at Vancouver General Hospital.

Ivan Georgiev, 39, is charged with several offences, including production of a controlled substance and possession of crystal meth for the purpose of trafficking. The federal Crown alleges he converted his Warren Road garage into a clandestine drug lab, where he cooked up large quantities of the illegal drug.

The lab was found after police raided the rural property in June 2009 following several weeks of surveillance. Health Canada chemist Sarita Jazwal told the court she found enough raw materials, including ephedrine, red phosphorous and hydriodic acid, to produce roughly 11 kilograms of crystal meth.

The man was jailed last year for three years on top of eight months he had served since his arrest after he pleaded guilty to weapons offences stemming from the same search that revealed the drug lab. The guns were found after police executed search warrants at Georgiev’s Pritchard property in 2010.

The United Nations' World Drug Report for 2011 was released Thursday, and Canada does not come off well - which is no surprise to those working in drug enforcement.

"If you look at the size and magnitude of these illicit drug labs, we just don't have the population and consumer base for this," said Sergeant Brent Hill, commander of the RCMP's chemical diversion unit in Milton, Ont. "This is for export and we know this. Do you really want to be a leading source country of illegal drugs?"

The annual UN drug report singles out Canada as a leading exporter of meth to the United States, the Philippines, Malaysia, Mexico and Jamaica.

In addition, "the resurgence" of ecstasy use south of the border "was fuelled by the manufacture [of ecstasy] in Canada and subsequent smuggling," according to the report which is based on global police, government and health records.

"For years we have pointed the finger at Colombia and Afghanistan," said Thomas Pietschmann, of the threat analysis section of the UN's Office on Drugs and Crime. "But the same kind of standard should apply to Western countries like Canada."

The UN report says Canadian authorities busted a dozen ecstasy labs and 23 meth labs in 2009 - the latest year for which statistics are available - and seized close to half a metric ton of ecstasy.

The Gander RCMP drug section arrested a 26 year-old man and 22 year-old woman from St. John's Sunday for possession of a controlled substance for the purposes of trafficking.

Police say the pair had a half-pound of cocaine and a quantity of ecstasy. The drugs were seized by the RCMP as well as a significant amount of cash.

The ecstasy was in the form of a popular kids’ candy, which police say tricks those who take it into thinking it’s harmless.

A prohibited weapon was also found during the search.

The two will appear in Gander provincial court today.

The officer stopped the man Monday afternoon on suspicion that he had been involved in a break-in, police spokesman Sgt. Dean Jantzen said. Police found three containers each with 13 grams of crystal meth. He also had a can containing the liquid drug gamma hydroxybutyrate, or GHB. Jantzen said the drugs had a street value of thousands of dollars.

Vancouver Island South * Police concerned about tainted cocaine in wake of recent deaths

Cocaine on Victoria streets could be laced with dangerous substances, people close to the city's street community say.

In the wake of two similar but unrelated deaths that saw a Victoria woman and Saanich man dead after taking cocaine, a volunteer with AIDS Vancouver Island said he's heard of cocaine being cut with crystal meth.

Gino, who didn't want his last name used, helps AVI pick up used drug paraphernalia around the city.

While dismantling the lab, officers discovered not only crystal meth and the ingredients necessary to make it but also small amounts of heroin and marijuana, according to Nanaimo RCMP. Police say they also found evidence that stolen wire was being brought to the property to be stripped, burned and resold.