An underground drug lab police raided at a Pritchard property last year had ties to an organized crime group out of eastern Europe, officers revealed Wednesday.

This group is responsible for methamphetamine and ecstasy production at clandestine labs throughout B.C., including three in Surrey and the one east of Kamloops, said Sgt. Shinder Kirk, a spokesman for the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit.

The bust, which included officers from Kamloops, the RCMP’s Southeast District emergency response team and members of the CFSEU, took place last June on the 1900 block of Warren Road, said Kirk.

“Our investigation started in June 2009 and concluded this year,” he said. “It was on ongoing investigation at the time the search warrants were served.”

Ivan Georgiev, 39, of Langley, was arrested in connection with the Pritchard property. He pleaded guilty to firearms charges in February and was sentenced to three years in jail.

Kirk said the property was rigged with an elaborate security system that included surveillance cameras and an electric fence. Officers found loaded firearms throughout a home at the site.

Most disturbing for officers was finding Georgiev’s two-year-old daughter in the house. Under her crib was a quantity of ammunition, he said.

The girl has been turned over to the Ministry of Social Services.  Georgiev’s common-law wife, Tereza Kiriakova, 27, faces a 10-year firearm ban.

Georgiev could face additional drug charges and is scheduled to appear in a Kamloops court June 2.

Also facing drug and firearms charges is Ante Dragusica, 34, of Surrey.

The Surrey labs had been dismantled by the time police found them. Investigators believe they were in the process of being moved elsewhere in the province. Kirk said the Pritchard lab was active.

Police seized 32 firearms, a grenade and ammunition during the investigation. Among the firearms was an M-16 assault rifle and several handguns.

The drug labs were uncovered while investigators looked into the disappearance of Ronald William Carlow, 38, who was reported missing to the Vancouver Police Department by his girlfriend in June 2007.

Kirk said the VPD learned of possible ties to organized crime and turned the case over to the CFSEU. It’s believed Carlow met with foul play, but an investigation is ongoing.

He said it’s not unusual for organized crime groups to set up operations outside of larger centres in order to avoid police scrutiny.

“We certainly have heard of other places where bunkers have been uncovered, usually for the purpose of growing marijuana,” said Kirk. “We have seen a migration of these individuals out into rural properties.”