Mission fentanyl trafficker gets 10 years in prison

A Mission, B.C., man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison after police seized more than 1.2 kilograms of fentanyl, crack cocaine and seven firearms, including a fully automatic rifle, from his home, Mission RCMP said.

Richard Samplonius, 45, was convicted of drug trafficking and firearms offences and sentenced on Sept. 10, 2026, police said. The detachment announced the sentence in a news release on Nov. 10, two months after it was handed down.

The case began after a series of traffic stops and drug seizures in 2021 identified several people believed to be involved in drug trafficking in Mission, police said. The detachment’s Crime Reduction Unit then opened a targeted investigation into the group.

Officers used various investigative techniques throughout 2022 to gather more evidence, which led to further arrests and drug seizures, the release said.

On Nov. 5, 2022, Crime Reduction Unit officers stopped a black BMW in Mission and arrested the driver, Samplonius, on two counts of trafficking a controlled substance, police said.

A search warrant executed at his home the same day turned up more than 1.2 kilograms of fentanyl, crack cocaine, packaging materials and seven firearms, according to police. The guns included handguns, shotguns and a fully automatic rifle.

Investigators also found evidence that the home was being used to supply fentanyl to street-level dealers in Mission, police said.

Samplonius was convicted following what police described as a lengthy court process.

Insp. Ray Monsef, the officer in charge of Mission RCMP, credited the unit’s work on the file.

“It took a lot of effort by the dedicated members of our Crime Reduction Unit to gather the evidence for this investigation, which ultimately led to the conviction and 10-year sentence for Mr. Samplonius,” Monsef said in the release.

“We all know what a devastating impact fentanyl is having on so many communities, and we hope that this conviction and jail sentence will serve as a deterrent to those involved in trafficking toxic drugs,” he said.

Separate from the criminal case, the BMW Samplonius was driving and more than $7,000 in cash were forfeited through British Columbia’s Civil Forfeiture Office, police said.

The province’s civil forfeiture process has been used in other B.C. cases, including the forfeited Hells Angels clubhouse in Kelowna that was later sold to the city.

Drug and gang enforcement in the province also involves the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit, which recently named a new chief officer.

Mission RCMP is asking anyone with information about drug trafficking in the Mission area to call the detachment at 604-826-7161.

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