A deadly opioid used as an elephant tranquilizer has been found in drugs seized by Abbotsford Police.
Last month, the department’s Gangs and Drugs Unit seized drugs suspected to contain another deadly opioid fentanyl and sent them for analysis.
It was determined that both fentanyl and carfentanil were present in the samples.
Both of these substances are extremely toxic synthetic opiate narcotics. Carfentanil is a hundred times more toxic than fentanyl and 10,000 times more potent than morphine.
READ MORE: What is carfentanil? Deadly street drug is causing mass overdoses in the US
Carfentanil is used in veterinary practices to immobilize large animals. Just a few granules are enough to trigger a fatal overdose. The drug has caused hundreds of overdoses in the United States and is making its way to Canada.
“To find it in the street drugs here in Abbotsford is very concerning and a reason why we have to give the public a warning,” said Cst. Ian MacDonald with Abbotsford Police. “If you have a product out there that has fentanyl and carfentanil at toxic levels, we would be looking at people in overdose situations at a minimum and we could have seen increased fatalities had this seizure not been made.”
MacDonald said it is the first time carfentanil has been found in Abbotsford, but the drug has been spotted in other municipalities before.
Carfentanil was first found in the Downtown Eastside during a drug seizure in September, and was later linked to an overdose death of a local 39-year-old man.
Earlier this month, carfentanil was also detected in illicit drugs in the Southern Interior.
WATCH: An urgent warning from Vancouver Police after the discovery of drugs tainted with highly toxic carfentanil, an opioid 10,000 times stronger than morphine.
The number of illicit overdose deaths was down in January in British Columbia, but the toll of 116 people is still the third-highest on record behind only the previous two months.
There were 914 overdose deaths in the province last year, most of them linked to illicit opioids.
READ MORE: 914 overdose deaths in B.C. in 2016: 90% occurred inside
The latest overdose death numbers for February have not been released yet.
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