Police say manslaughter charges possible in ODs
Suspected dealers in custody; those who bought coke urged to turn it in
Three men arrested on drugrelated charges after two people fatally overdosed this weekend could face additional charges related to those deaths, Saskatoon police say.
Superintendent David Haye told media Monday morning that police in other jurisdictions, including Alberta and Ontario, have charged drug dealers with manslaughter and that such charges are “absolutely ” a possibility after the weekend’s rash of drug overdoses.
Saskatoon police received three 911 calls on Saturday between 7:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. about six people who had overdosed at three different locations.
A 31-year-old man and a 48-yearold woman died, while two men and two women were taken to hospital. Police believe all six had taken cocaine laced with fentanyl. Although the powerful opioid has caused overdose deaths in Saskatoon before, this is the first time the city has seen deaths caused by cocaine cut with it.
Haye said one of the people sent to hospital had been released by Monday morning and one remained in a coma.
Police realized the overdoses were likely linked and worked through the night to find the people responsible for distributing the drugs, Haye said.
Officers arrested one man at 10:15 p.m. on Saturday night and a second man at 12:05 a.m. Sunday. Both were charged with trafficking-related offences. Shortly after 5 a.m. Sunday, police executed a search warrant at a home in the Lakewood Suburban Centre neighbourhood. They arrested a third man who also faces trafficking-related charges.
Between the search and three arrests, officers seized more than $14,000 in cash, 11 grams of cocaine laced with fentanyl, 150 grams of cocaine, 31 grams of heroin, 34 grams of marijuana and a pistol with ammunition.
All of the men appeared in court Monday morning. Haye said none of them originated from Saskatchewan.
After the third arrest, police issued a public advisory on Sunday night warning people that if they had purchased cocaine from a drug dealer going by the name of “Lil Joe,” or “Joe Bro,” or who was using the phone number 306-8817300, they could be in possession of a drug that could kill them.
At a news conference on Monday, Haye said the decision to send out the detailed advisory was “unprecedented,” but necessary.
“In my experience, we’ve never done that at the Saskatoon Police Service," he said.
“The decision to release this information was made in consultation with both the provincial and federal Crowns, so they were aware we were going to do it. We believe that the public safety interests are the greater need here and that’s why we released that information.”
Haye would not comment specifically on whether any of the three men arrested was “Lil Joe” or “Joe Bro,” but said police believe they have the right people in custody, in part because calls about fentanyl overdoses stopped after the men were arrested.
Police are in possession of the cellphone with the phone number 306-881-7300.
“Based on my experience, drug traffickers often will share street names as well ... Whether one of them is using that name or not, I’m not sure right now," Haye told reporters.
“There’s always the possibility that there’s more people out there. I believe none of the people arrested are from the Saskatoon area so they may have accomplices somewhere else, but, I mean, that’s speculation.”
Police want anyone who purchased cocaine from “Lil Joe,” “Joe Bro,” or someone using the aforementioned phone number to bring the drug to the police station so it can be disposed of properly. As of Monday morning, no one had done so.
“I’m not aware of us having ever asked people to bring the drugs in before. This is brand new to us,” Haye said.
People who bring in drugs will not be charged for possession, police said. Staff at the police station’s front desk will ask people for their names, but “if they don’t want to provide it we’re not going to make a big deal out of it,” Haye said.
“We would hope that people, when they bring these drugs in, will become good witnesses for us and tell us who they bought it from and how they managed to acquire it.”
Troy Davies, spokesman for Medavie Health Services West (formerly MD Ambulance), said he had not previously seen so many overdoses happen over such a short period in the city.
“To have this rash of calls come in and to the point where they were critical, life-threatening, as we’ve seen, it’s very stressful for our paramedics,” he said.
Saskatoon paramedics and firefighters carry Naloxone, a medication that blocks the effects of opioids such as fentanyl. Davies said it was used four times on Saturday.
He urged people who use street drugs to exercise caution, because it’s possible they could contain fentanyl.
“You’re not dealing with an ethical person, you’re dealing with a drug dealer. You can’t trust the word of a drug dealer and you have to assume that it’s not always going to be what you’re buying,” he said.
At a news conference Monday afternoon, Saskatchewan Health Authority spokespeople reminded the public that drug users and their family members can pick up free take-home Naloxone kits from the Mayfair Clinic on 33rd Street West or the Methadone Assisted Recovery Services office on 20th Street West.
Kits can also be purchased at some pharmacies in the city.