Bad heroin in Vernon kills two

VERNON — There’s a bad batch of drugs on the streets of Vernon, prompting a warning from RCMP.

The warning stems from a series of drug overdoses and at least two deaths.

Police first became aware of the bad drugs on Dec. 30 when a 49-year-old man died of asphyxiation.

Shortly after, there were three non-fatal overdoses involving heroin. One of the victims believed the heroin was mixed with fentanyl.

On Jan. 3, a 29-year-old man died of an overdose.

“The Vernon North Okanagan RCMP want to warn those of our community that use illicit drugs to be very careful.  It appears that there is a very potent or what is termed as a bad batch of drugs out there,” says Vernon RCMP spokesman, Gord Molendyk.

“With six reports that we are aware of in the past week police are asking friends and family members of those who are known to do illicit drugs in our community to be very mindful and speak to them about this. Those who suffer addictions sometimes have a hard time to avoid them.”