Three female inmates at London jail suffered overdoses: source

Deadly fentanyl is tightening its grip on London’s jail, with reports of several female inmates overdosing early this week — one so severely, she needed five doses of naloxone spray to come back to life.

Demand for the opioid is so high, twice in the past week large amounts were found on women trying to smuggle the drug into the Elgin-Middlesex Detention Centre (EMDC), sources say. The province confirmed this week that four female inmates were found in medical distress on Monday night.

“Staff acted quickly in attending to the inmates and calling 911. Paramedics arrived and transported three inmates to the hospital, while the other inmate was attended to by staff at the facility,” Andrew Morrison, spokesman for the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services, said.

“All three inmates taken to the hospital have since returned to the facility.”

The province can’t reveal the nature of the medical emergencies, he said.

But a source at EMDC said at least three female inmates suffered overdoses, with a large amount of fentanyl found on one.

One inmate required several, perhaps five, doses of overdose-reversing nasal naloxone to recover, the source said.

A second source said a female inmate was charged last week with trying to bring in 100 ounces of pure fentanyl.

The synthetic opioid is 100 times more potent than morphine. Even the smallest amount can cause an overdose.

As large amounts of the deadly drug began making their way into London last year, correctional officers warned of the impact at the jail — where smuggling in drugs has long been a problem and where inmates battling addiction and mental illness seek respite from long days and nights with little to do.

Since last summer, three male inmates have died of suspected overdose, with fentanyl identified by sources as the drug.

It can be difficult for correctional officers to detect small amounts of the drug in body cavities, even when using an X-ray body scanner. Fentanyl, wrapped in plastic, on the scanner looks like feces and may not prompt any action, correctional officers say.

The province has policies and practices in place to deter contraband and to deal with the opioid crisis, Morrison said in an email. “Nasal naloxone is available in all institutions for a nurse or operational manager to administer when an opioid overdose is suspected and training is underway to give correctional officers the same ability. Upon release from provincial custody, the ministry distributes naloxone nasal spray kits directly to at-risk inmates,” he said.