Deadly opioid carfentanil detected in Red Deer for 1st time

Red Deer RCMP say they've seized carfentanil in the central Alberta city for the first time.

The presence of the potent and deadlyopioidwas confirmed by lab tests in drugs that were seized in March, police said Monday.

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"Carfentanilis 100 times more toxic thanfentanyl its only legal use is to sedate large animals such as elephants," RCMP Cpl. Robert Schultz said in a release.

"Drug users in Red Deer should be alarmed to know carfentanilis in the hands ofdealers who are almost certainly mixing it with other drugs or substituting it entirely."

The drugs were seized during raids on two Red Deer homes onMarch 8.

They were found to contain a mixture of carfentanil, fentanyl and caffeine, according to testing done by Health Canada.

Because of the potency of carfentanil, Schultz said "there is virtually no way, even in a controlled laboratory setting," to safely mix it in to recreational drugs.

Compared to drugs like cocaine and heroin, Schultz said carfentanil is inexpensive and therefore attractive to drug dealers as a mixing agent or substitute.

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