Agents fall ill during bust
The Canadian Border Services Agency says it doesn’t know what caused four of its agents to suddenly become ill during an inspection of a vehicle on the Peace Bridge Friday morning.
Niagara Regional Police were called to the bridge around 4:20 a.m. to assist in the arrest of three people following the inspection. None of the NRP officers fell ill.
CBSA spokeswoman Diana Scott said the four agency officers became ill after being exposed to an unknown substance during an inspection of a vehicle early Friday morning.
The agents were taken to the Greater Niagara General Hospital in Niagara Falls, where they were treated and released, Scott said.
Although CBSA has yet to identify the substance that made the officers sick, the Niagara Falls fire department was told the officers were exposed to an “illicit drug.”
Niagara Falls Fire Chief Jim Boutilier said his crews were called to the hospital to help decontaminate Niagara Health System staff who treated the CBSA agents.
Boutilier said none of his firefighters were exposed to anything harmful during the incident.
While Boutilier was not told what drug the officers were exposed to, law enforcement and emergency services agencies are increasingly wary of possible exposures to fentanyl and carfentanil.
Both drugs are powerful and potentially lethal opioids that can be absorbed through the skin. Fentanyl is routinely mixed with other street drugs, including other opioids like heroin and stimulants like cocaine.
On Friday, the Ontario Provincial Police announced that its officers are now required to wear protective equipment - including a respiratory mask, safety glasses, gloves and long sleeves — during drug searches, seizures and drug sampling as a means to reduce potential exposure.
OPP officers will also carry doses of naxolone, an anti-overdose drug, to be used in the event an officer is exposed to fentanyl. The drug can also be used if an officer encounters someone who has overdosed on an opioid.
In mid-May, an Ohio police officer was given the overdose antidote after he suffered an overdose while on duty. The officer brushed fentanyl power off his uniform after a drug raid, and it was absorbed into his body through his hands.
The NRP says one man and three women were arrested Friday morning at the bridge. Danial Glover, 35, of Hamilton, Maureen Allan, 52, of Hamilton and Traci Strasser, 49, of Niagara Falls, are all charged with possession of cannabis, crystal meth, heroin and hydromorphone. They each also face a possession of a prohibited weapon charge.
All three are in custody pending a bail hearing.
Police spokesman Const. Rich Gadreau said police do not know if any of the drugs the trio are charged with possessing made the CBSA officers ill.