Highly toxic drug seized in Montreal

Emergency rooms notified of danger

Police are worried about a toxic drug being on Montreal streets after a series of raids last month included the first Canadian seizure of a drug 40 times stronger than heroin.

Almost three weeks ago, two men walked into a UPS store in Lachine and told the clerk they wanted to send a microwave oven and a toaster to an address in Colorado.

The men had been regular customers over the past few months and always shipped the same items to various addresses in the United States.

On their last visit on April 25, Montreal police raided the store as the men were filling out an address coupon.

When drug squad officers took apart the appliances, they discovered that the men were shipping a narcotic that is 40 times more powerful than heroin.

Hidden inside were about 10,000 pills of Desmethyl Fentanyl, a derivative of the painkiller Fentanyl.

It was the first time the narcotic has been seized in Canada, and Montreal police and a high-ranking Quebec health official are concerned that the illicit drug is being sold on Montreal streets.

“The effects could be fatal,” said Dr. Danielle Auger, director of public health for the provincial Health Department.

“Large quantities were seized, so we can presume that they are on the street. These drugs are made in very poor conditions with a lot of different chemicals. It is quite a gamble to take drugs like this.”

Last month, police seized an unprecedented number of synthetic drugs and drugmaking equipment in seven raids around Montreal.

Two men, Jason Berry, 30, and Patrick Provencher, 37, both of downtown Montreal, face several drug charges in the case.

Police say they are alarmed by the seizure of Desmethyl Fentanyl and other chemicals that were used to make counterfeit versions of drugs such as Viagra and Cialis.

The chemicals were imported from China.

Close to 300,000 pills were seized in the raids. Some were found in a makeshift laboratory that had been set up in a garage on Ropery St. in Point-St-Charles.

Some of the drugs seized were so toxic that four police officers handling them became ill. One officer had to be taken to hospital with heart problems. Three other officers, who were handling the drugs while wearing masks and gloves, developed rashes on their arms.

Many of the pills were exported; some were sold online and police suspect that other drugs are on the street.

To make the drugs more attractive to young people, the dealers stamped popular logos — including those of Facebook and Tim Hortons — on the pills. In some cases, paint was used to colour the pills.

Police also seized three machines that were used in manufacturing the drugs.

“They were making one pill a second,” Inspector Marc Riopel of the Montreal police said Monday.

Police also seized 1,500 kilograms of ingredients that could produce at least three million more pills.

Police notified the provincial Health Department of the raids last week, and Auger said her department has advised emergency room doctors and employees who work in drug addiction to keep an eye out for anyone who may have become ill after taking the drugs.

“We will see in the next few weeks if there are cases coming in to hospitals,” Auger said.

Other pills have been sold as Viagra, Cialis and speed, but police said they don’t know what chemicals were used in the manufacturing process.

To stay safe, it is best not to buy any drugs on the black market, police say.

Police received a tip about the illicit drugs in January and started an investigation, which is still ongoing.