Suspected fentanyl seized in raid
Big haul of deadly drug represents many lives potentially saved, police say
WATERLOO REGION — Fentanyl’s deadly presence in Waterloo Region has hit a startling high note.
Regional police seized about 1.5 kilograms of suspected fentanyl — worth about $450,000 on the street — at a Kitchener address on Tuesday during six midday raids in Kitchener, Cambridge and Durham that resulted in seven arrests.
The 1.5 kg represents the biggest single amount of the powerful synthetic opioid seized locally, essentially matching the total amount of fentanyl seized over the first seven months of 2017.
“It’s certainly the largest we’ve dealt with at one time in this region,” said Waterloo Regional Police Supt. Patrick Dietrich on Thursday.
“We have not had a seizure of this magnitude to date.”
Dietrich found the size of the fentanyl seizure “very troubling.”
Fentanyl, a cheap street drug filler, is generally sold by the tenth-of-a-gram on the street. So a batch of 1.5 kg could spread the risk of fatal overdoses far and wide.
“That would be the equivalent, if broken down and sold at that level, to 15,000 doses of fentanyl that would potentially have ended up on the streets of either this community or a community probably nearby,” Dietrich said.
Police believe many lives have been saved by this week’s fentanyl haul by removing such a large quantity from circulation where fatal overdoses could result.
Already, opioid-related deaths in the region total 57 for 2017. A year ago, the total was 38, with fentanyl involved in nearly two-thirds of the deaths. In 2015, the region had 23 fatal opioid overdoses with fentanyl involved in six.
Fentanyl wasn’t the only illicit drug seized Tuesday as police executed search
warrants at Kitchener homes on Selkirk Drive, Prosperity Drive and Fairway Road North — as well as at an undisclosed Kitchener hotel, a Rich Avenue home in Cambridge and, with help from West Grey police, at a residence in the town of Durham.
A half-kilogram of crystal methamphetamine, with an estimated street value of $40,000, was also seized by police — along with replica firearms, prohibited weapons, stolen items, two stolen vehicles and cash.
Three women and four men face numerous charges.
Kitchener residents charged are Ashley Lauren Broderick, 29, Daniel Timothy Foreman, 38, Dayna Lynn Karges, 46, Luke Adam Martin, 32, and Cassandra Lyn Sangers, 22.
Nicholas William Schmidt, 26, of Cambridge and Matthew Duncan Fuller, 33, of Durham are also charged.
On Wednesday evening, another arrest was made in connection with the investigations, Dietrich confirmed. Further arrests are also expected as the investigation continues.
The drug and weapon seizures on Tuesday were the culmination of two lengthy simultaneous investigations with one of them going back at least six months.
One began as an investigation into the trafficking of fentanyl and drugs. The other was focused on firearms and drugs. Eventually, the investigations merged.
“As the two investigations progressed … the connections were made,” Dietrich said. “And then they moved forward together until arrests were made beginning on Tuesday this week.”
Also seized in connection with the original firearms investigation were shotguns and rifles. Some of those weapons had been stolen during local break-ins, Dietrich said.
Handling fentanyl, which is 100 times more potent than morphine, can be complicated for police. In January, an officer was taken to hospital for exposure after a locked tool box seized from a drug trafficker was found to contain powdered fentanyl.
There were no such difficulties in seizing the fentanyl on Tuesday.
“The officers going in to execute these search warrants knew what it was they would be dealing with,” Dietrich said.
“So they went with the proper protection and equipment in order to deal with that. There were no issues during the seizures or the execution of the arrest warrants.”
Dietrich said police have noticed an uptick this month in overdose fatalities believed related to opioids.
He said the eight cases in October, matching April and March, puts an end to a downward trend in recent months.
With the increasing availability of life-saving naloxone kits, which temporarily reverse the effects of opioid overdoses, an upward climb was not anticipated.
“It’s quite concerning,” he said.
We have not had a seizure of this magnitude to date. SUPT. PATRICK DIETRICH