Calgary man charged after seizure of opioid 100 times more powerful than fentanyl
Posted Aug 9, 2016 3:29 pm.
Last Updated Aug 9, 2016 4:11 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Carfentanil is made to take down a rhino or an elephant, so the RCMP isn’t sure what the purpose was for a kilogram of the substance that was mailed to a Calgary address.
On June 17, Canada Border Services Agency intercepted a package at the Vancouver International Mail Centre that was shipped from China. The parcel was declared as printer accessories but border guards discovered the substance inside.
The RCMP says the amount seized could have produced more than 50 million doses and it’s hard to imagine what the impact could have been, if even the smallest amount of the powerful drug made its way on to the street.
“There is no known application where carfentanil would be safe for human use of consumption so it is unsure as to what the use of this was going to be when it was brought into our community,” says RCMP Insp. Allan Lai.
The drug is used by veterinarians to sedate large animals and is 100 times more potent than fentanyl. A fully suited Hazmat team handled the substance when it was discovered in Vancouver and CBSA lab analysis later confirmed it was carfentanil.
Calgary Police Services Insp. Martin Schiavetta says other analogs of fentanyl began appearing in Calgary last year, and this spring CPS reported fatalities from similar synthetic opioids.
“We had some deaths linked to 3-methylfentanyl which is 10 to 15 times more toxic (than fentanyl) and of course now we have carfentanil. So like my colleagues have said, we are very concerned about this,” said Insp. Schiavetta.
CPS informed the Calgary Medical Examiner’s Office to look out for the substance, but so far no deaths have been linked to carfentanil.
RCMP is working with its law enforcement partners across the country but says this is a global issue and it has contacted Interpol to keep potent opioids from hitting Canadian soil.
Joshua Wrenn, 24, is charged with one count of Importation of a Controlled Substance and one count of Possession for the Purpose of Trafficking a Controlled Substance. He’s scheduled to appear in court Oct. 19, 2016.
