U.S. drug enforcement 'keeping an eye' on Port of Vancouver as conduit for chemicals used to make fentanyl

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency is pointing its finger at the Port of Vancouver, alleging it to be an entry point for the chemicals used to manufacture fentanyl, which can then find its way into the U.S.

DEA Administrator Terrance Cole has stated publicly that the agency is “very conscious” of precursor chemicals moving through the port and warns that the DEA is “keeping (its) eye on Canada.”

Cole told U.S. senators in Washington on Tuesday that the chemicals are entering the port, before being transported to cartel-linked labs in Canada and ultimately crossing into the U.S. across the shared border, the CBC reports.

Cole made his comments during a Senate appropriations committee examining budget requests from the DEA, FBI and other federal law enforcement agencies.

He said the DEA will be expanding its Canadian presence, including plans for two more offices in 2027, though he didn’t identify Vancouver as one of them. At present, the DEA has two offices in Canada — in the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa and U.S. Consulate in Vancouver.

The Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) is responsible for border protection at points of entry such as the container terminal in Vancouver, says Vancouver Port Authority communications advisor Arpen Rana.

“Terminal operators at the Port of Vancouver have stringent safety and security measures that are approved and regulated by government agencies,” Rana told National Post in an email. “While we do not operate any of the container terminals at the port, we routinely coordinate security efforts with multiple law enforcement and regulatory agencies whose mandates include jurisdictions inclusive of the Port of Vancouver.”

He says the port authority has also partnered with the CBSA on “state-of-the-art container inspection facilities to support national safety and security.”

National Post has reached out to the CBSA for details about its operations at the port.

Canada’s fentanyl czar disputes claims that Canada is exporting fentanyl in significant quantities into the U.S.

Meanwhile, as previously reported by National Post, data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection points to a minor amount of fentanyl crossing into the U.S. from Canada, as opposed to the significant trade going in via Mexico.

During the 2024-25 fiscal year, U.S. officials seized 35 kilograms of fentanyl along the Canada-U.S. border, compared to 5,215 kilograms at the Mexican-American border. In the first part of 2025-26 fiscal year, U.S. Border Patrol officers seized just 2.7 kilograms of fentanyl along the Canadian border, while nabbing nearly 1,000 times as much along the U.S.-Mexico border (2,630 kilograms).

Fentanyl from Canada was a significant talking point for U.S. President Donald Trump after his return to the White House last year. It was used as a trigger for the first set of tariffs he slapped on Canadian goods , despite moves from Ottawa to crack down on cross-border traffic. The federal government launched a $1.3-billion border security plan and appointed the fentanyl czar.

• Fentanyl to be classified as a 'weapon of mass destruction' in U.S., Trump says
• 'Manufactured crisis': Fentanyl seized at Canadian border by U.S. authorities plummets

Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark nationalpost.com and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here.