Winnipeg police warn public as Halloween-themed fentanyl seized

WINNIPEG Winnipeg police have issued a special Halloween safety advisory after making a spooky drug seizure.

Police say that while officers were executing a search warrant at a home as part of a drug investigation late last week, they found six blotters which are believed to contain fentanyl or possibly carfentanil.

The blotters — which are small sized pieces of paper with doses of the drug dried into them — each have an image of a witch riding a broom.

Const. Rob Carver says police have issued the warning because it’s possible there are more blotters out there, and the Halloween images could entice a child to look at them, or even taste them.

Carfentanil is a synthetic opioid similar to fentanyl but 100 times more potent — an amount weighing less than a grain of salt can kill someone.

Carver says the blotters are dangerous to touch and anyone who finds one should immediately phone 911.

“We’ve seized six and we don’t usually find just six, so that’s certainly our concern that there would be more,” Carver said Sunday.

Police in Winnipeg have found blotters with opioids before.

In September 2016, police said they seized upwards of 1,500 blotter tabs containing carfentanil, which is 100 times more powerful than fentanyl, when a tactical team carried out a search warrant at a hotel.

This past June, Winnipeg police chief Danny Smyth said carfentanil was being distributed in blotter tabs with the street name Drop Dead.

Smyth described the blotter tabs as being similar to the way L-S-D was distributed in the 1970s.

Carver said blotters often have images, such as a cartoon character, and that drug dealers will identify with a particular image.

“This one is unique in that it’s right before Halloween and does have a Halloween theme,” he said. “These could be lethal.” He said police aren’t sure yet if the blotters are fentanyl or carfentanil.