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Carfentanil confirmed for first the time in Victoria

Carfentanil discovered by police after analyzing drug haul in Langford
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Ion scanner showing alarm for carfentanil from sample. Courtesy VicPD

Carfentanil has been confirmed for the first time in Victoria after VicPD officers discovered it using a drug processing room that opened just last week.

The potentially deadly drug was found in heroin seized by West Shore RCMP in Langford on Aug. 2. Officers arrested two men following a vehicle stop in the 1000-block of Goldstream Avenue. Fentanyl was found in both a half kilogram of cocaine and an amount of methamphetamine seized, along with cash, brass knuckles and marijuana.

“(Carfentanil) is considered to be 100 times more potent than fentanyl,” Staff Sgt. Conor King said. “Carfentanil is a growing problem and we will see more and more of it. It will only exacerbate the death rate.”

There were more than 900 overdose deaths in B.C. last year, and fentanyl played a part in many of them. But this is the first time carfentanil has been found in Greater Victoria, although police suspected it was already here.

“It is likely there are other carfentanil samples out there,” King said, adding that more dealers are using it and fentanyl to increase profits. “It is nothing short of a ruthless enterprise, because it is killing people at an astronomical rate.”

Horst Francisco Schimer, one of the two men taken into custody, faces drug-related charges and charges for breaching court-ordered conditions, which include not possessing weapons or drugs, and being under house arrest. No charges have yet been sworn against the second person.

lauren.boothby@vicnews.com

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VicPD investigators processing exhibits in drug processing room. (Submitted Photo)