5 different ways fentanyl was smuggled into Canada - Action News
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British ColumbiaTHE FENTANYL FIX

5 different ways fentanyl was smuggled into Canada

Nearly a 1,000 people died last year from overdoses in B.C. and many of those deaths are suspected to have been caused by fentanyl. Here are some of the ways the drug has been smuggled in Canada.

From comet cans, stolen BMW and flaps - here are the ways the dangerous opioid made it into North America

Many people don't realize they're ingesting fentanyl and carfentanil because more common drugs are being laced with them. The powder form of the deadly opioids are used act as cutting agents and mixed into other drugs like heroin, cocaine and oxycodone. (CBC)

Nearly a 1,000 people died last year from overdoses in B.C. and many of those deaths are suspected to have been caused by fentanyl, a game-changingopioid that's a 100 times more potent than heroin.

Here are some of the ways fentanyl has been smuggled in Canada.

Comet can

A Calgary man faces numerous charges after police raided a house and seized cocaine hidden in a can of Comet cleaner and a shotgun fitted with a muzzle flash limiter.

Police officers found a Comet can with cocaine hidden inside when they searched a northwest Calgary residence. (Calgary Police Service)

Stolen BMW

What began as investigation into a stolen carturned into one of Calgary's largest fentanyl seizures.

A photo of black pills in two transparent plastic bags.
Some of the fentanyl pills seized from raids on two Calgary homes. (Dave Gilson/CBC)

Police say theyarrested two peopleand seized 1,831fentanyl pills along with more than $100,000 in cash, a stolen BMW and numerous other narcotics during two raids.

Flaps

Over $1 million worth of drugs, including flaps of the deadlyfentanyldrug destined for a Victoria drug trafficker's address, wereseized by Victoria Police after being alerted by the Canada Border Services Agency.

A flap is a piece of paper, often shiny, that is folded by the drug dealer into an envelope for the convenient transportation of powdered drugs.

Postal service

Instead of using large overseas shipping containers, drug importers can use smallpackagesdelivered by Canada Post or a courier service.

A simple online search of "buy fentanyl online" produces numerous sellers including one foreign pharmacy that promises "100 per centanonymity and privacy,"and "undetectable" parcelspacked "carefully with tungsten and carbon papers to skip through customs' X-ray machines"

Cargo shipments from overseas

In March 2014, border services officers found multiple shipments containing anabolic steroids and other import controlled substances at theCBSAVancouver International Mail Centre and Vancouver International Airport.

Three B.C. men were charged.

(CBSA)