Suspected fentanyl drug raids hit three locations around Montreal

Montreal police are spearheading three simultaneous raids of suspected drug synthesis labs spread around the island of Montreal.

READ MORE: Multiple Quebec nurses suspended over fentanyl theft over last 10 years

First responders on the scene said it’s possible the sites were cooking fentanyl, a  potent opioid pain medication that is increasingly being mixed into powerful and deadly narcotics.

“It’s the first time in Quebec,” said Ronald Mcinnis, a spokesperson with the Sûreté du Québec (SQ).

Share this on X Click to share quote on X: "It's the first time in Quebec," said Ronald Mcinnis, a spokesperson with the <a href="http://globalnews.ca/tag/surete-du-quebec" target="_blank">Sûreté du Québec</a> (SQ).

By 12 p.m. Friday, police had made no arrests.

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The raids come on the heels of similar drug busts a week earlier, and two months after provincial police raided the first-ever fentanyl labs in Quebec.

READ MORE: 18 charged, $3M in drugs and fentanyl seized in Ontario, Quebec organized crime probe

Police and addiction counsellors are coming to grips with a growing fentanyl problem that may be creeping closer to the Montreal area.

“When I first heard about the crisis that was coming, I was certainly very concerned,” said Rabbi Benyamin Bresinger with Chabad Lifeline.

Share this on X Click to share quote on X: "When I first heard about the crisis that was coming, I was certainly very concerned," said Rabbi Benyamin Bresinger with Chabad Lifeline.

READ MORE: Fentanyl linked to three Quebec City deaths

The drug is 40 times stronger than heroin, as much as 100 times stronger than morphine and a dose the size of a grain of salt can be deadly.

WATCH BELOW: Fentanyl in Quebec

1:54 Police arrest 18 people connected to drug and weapons trafficking in Ontario-Quebec

• Police arrest 18 people connected to drug and weapons trafficking in Ontario-Quebec
• Is fentanyl a problem in Montreal?
• SQ raids Eastern Townships fentanyl lab

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Originally, the drug would be distributed from western Canada through conventional mail, with labs producing the narcotic form of the prescription painkiller in Vancouver.

READ MORE: Fentanyl lab in Quebec’s Eastern Townships raided by police

Now, authorities worry the drug is increasingly being concocted in eastern parts of the country.