Local police have taken a large amount of drugs off of the streets.
They say, on September 28th, the Owen Sound Police Drug Enforcement Unit concluded a lengthy and complex investigation involving a suspected drug trafficker selling illicit drugs in Owen Sound and the Grey Bruce area.
According to police, at approximately 12:20 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon, Owen Sound, Saugeen Shores and West Grey police officers worked together to arrest a 22-year-old Brampton man in Saugeen Shores as a result of the investigation.
Police seized 247.5 grams of Fentanyl and 93.4 grams of Meth that had a combined estimated street value of over $108,000.
Police say, the seized Fentanyl represents over 2,400 potentially fatal doses.
In addition, police also seized $2,950 in Canadian Currency.
The man has been charged with possession of fentanyl for the purpose of trafficking, possession of methamphetamine for the purpose of trafficking and possession of proceeds of crime.
Owen Sound Police Chief Craig Ambrose says in a statement, “Our community continues to suffer from the effects of the opioid crisis and we continue to see tragic losses of our community members from overdoses of these very same types of drugs which were seized today. I am very proud of the members of our Service and our partner Services who worked together to get these drugs out of circulation and charge the individual responsible for trafficking them”.
This investigation highlights the Owen Sound Police Service’s commitment to investigate and arrest those responsible for trafficking highly toxic drugs to, and profiting from, the most vulnerable members of our community.
Alexis Cook, program manager of Harm Reduction at the Grey Bruce Health Unit says, “The Grey Bruce Health Unit is deeply concerned about the toxicity of local street drugs, which is largely due to fentanyl and carfentanil, and we commend the Owen Sound Police Service – a valued Public Health partner – for its continued and focused efforts to keep our community safe,”
She explains, “Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic opioid that is odourless and tasteless and is 100 times stronger than morphine. Only a few grains of fentanyl can be enough to kill someone, which makes the risk of an accidental overdose very high.”
Cook says so far this year, the Grey Bruce Health Unit has issued numerous drug overdose alerts to system partners and has been notified of two fatal drug overdoses.