SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
A $500 batch of furanyl fentanyl from China allegedly bought online has been connected to a series of non-fatal overdoses in the city last fall, a doctor and police officer said at a public meeting last week.

Police officers in protective suits are decontaminated outside a Borden Drive home where a search warrant was executed last fall that found the opioid drug furanyl fentanyl. - photo courtesy of RCMP

Eight people were treated at Stanton Territorial Hospital in late November for opioid overdoses over a 48-hour period, prompting an alert from health officials.

An investigation brought RCMP to a Borden Drive home where police allegedly found the opioid furanyl fentanyl, a less potent form of fentanyl. At the time, police didn't link the seizure with the overdoses.

The connection was revealed by Dr. Jennifer Harris and RCMP Sgt. Dean Riou at the public meeting about fentanyl attended by about 20 people at the Yellowknife Public Library on Jan. 24.

Both the doctor and Riou spoke of the dangers of fentanyl which can trigger an euphoric sensation but also can slow a person's breathing and cause death if sufficient amounts are consumed.

Harris pointed to the overdoses to show how risky the use of fentanyl and furanyl fentanyl is as only small amounts are needed to trigger an overdose.

"Because it comes in a powder, crystal form, it's incredibly hard to get a small amount of it and therefore every single person who tried that batch of furanyl fentanyl overdosed and one person overdosed three different times," Harris said. "They tried three different times to take less and each time it didn't matter how much less he took, he overdosed each time."

The furanyl fentanyl was brought into the country from China, Harris told the crowd that included parents and children. Riou later added it was purchased online for $500.

Darcy Oake, 22, has been charged, although the allegations have not been proven in court.

A second package of furanyl fentanyl from China destined for Yellowknife was intercepted by the Canada Border Services Agency at the Vancouver International Mail Centre days after the eight overdoses, according to an RCMP news release from December. The package was stopped when an official realized it was bound for the home on Borden Drive police were searching in connection with the overdoses, said Riou.

The ease of purchasing fentanyl from overseas has been outlined in previous media reports about the rise of overdose deaths in Canada.

While at the home investigating, Riou said a bag with crystallized powder was found on a dresser. An RCMP officer who suspected the substance was fentanyl took what he thought was the necessary precautions including double gloves. Soon after moving the bag, he developed symptoms of exposure from residual powder. The officer left the home and soon felt better but was taken to hospital as a precaution, said Riou.

RCMP Clandestine Laboratory Enforcement and Response (CLEAR) teams from Alberta and B.C. flew into Yellowknife with an ion scanner within about 12 hours.

There was still some powder residue and a scale in the garage that was seized and the area cleaned up.

The hazmat suits worn by officers were triple bagged and placed in barrels that will go to a facility in Alberta for destruction. Normally, the details revealed by the doctor and officer wouldn't emerge until a case goes through the court system.

Oake was charged Nov. 30 with unlawfully importing and trafficking furanyl fentanyl into Yellowknife, possession of furanyl fentanyl for the purpose of trafficking, criminal negligence causing bodily harm by providing a person with furanyl fentanyl, and failing to comply with a court order from Oct. 27, 2015 not to purchase, possess or consume a controlled substance. The first four charges were related to incidents that occurred between Oct. 30 and Nov. 28.

Oake was to appear in court yesterday to elect whether he would be tried by a jury or judge alone.

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