RCMP arrested a 47-year-old Abbotsford man with 36 kg of ecstasy hidden in the gas tank of the pick-up truck he was driving near Chilliwack Tuesday morning.

Drug Enforcement Branch officers made the discovery after pulling over the vehicle on Hwy 1 near the Evans Road exit. Another 27.5 kg of ecstasy was found in a suitcase at the suspect's Abbotsford home after police received a warrant and searched the property.

The drugs were concealed in a sophisticated, magnetic, electronically-controlled compartment inside the vehicle's gas tank, RCMP Const. Michael McLaughlin said in a release.

The seizure underscores the growing concern of law enforcement officers that there are large amounts of synthetic drugs available in British Columbia.

"In total, 63.5 kgs of ecstasy tablets were seized. That's more than 200,000 individual doses," McLaughlin said.

The man arrested was the sole occupant of the truck and was taken into custody without incident, according to police.

"The suspect does not have a significant criminal history, but the amount and value of the drugs, the sophistication of the compartment that was hiding them, and the fact that they were likely being hidden for a relatively long journey, suggests that this file is linked to organized crime," McLaughlin said.

McLaughlin said drugs like ecstasy can vary wildly in their actual concentration of MDMA in a tablet, and a significant amount of ecstasy seized by police is laced with drugs like crystal meth and ketamine - a horse tranquilizer.

"Federal drug investigators and drug prevention officers are doing everything they can to keep youth safe from synthetic drugs," said Superintendent Brian Cantera, the officer in charge of the Federal Drug Enforcement Branch.

Cantera used the recent alleged gang rape of a teen in Pitt Meadows at a drug party as an example of the danger ecstasy exposes B.C. youth to.

"The sale, use and abuse of drugs like ecstasy and GHB can have horrible consequences," he said.

The suspect has been released from custody and police are recommending charges of possession of a controlled substance for the purpose of trafficking. No court date has been set.

RArnott@abbotsfordtimes.com