5 different ways fentanyl was smuggled into Canada
From comet cans, stolen BMW and flaps - here are the ways the dangerous opioid made it into North America
Nearly a 1,000 people died last year from overdoses in B.C. and many of those deaths are suspected to have been caused by fentanyl, a game-changing opioid that's a 100 times more potent than heroin.
Here are some of the ways fentanyl has been smuggled in Canada.
Comet can
A Calgary man faces numerous charges after police raided a house and seized cocaine hidden in a can of Comet cleaner and a shotgun fitted with a muzzle flash limiter.
Stolen BMW
What began as investigation into a stolen car turned into one of Calgary's largest fentanyl seizures.
Police say they arrested two people and seized 1,831 fentanyl pills along with more than $100,000 in cash, a stolen BMW and numerous other narcotics during two raids.
Flaps
Over $1 million worth of drugs, including flaps of the deadly fentanyl drug destined for a Victoria drug trafficker's address, were seized by Victoria Police after being alerted by the Canada Border Services Agency.
A flap is a piece of paper, often shiny, that is folded by the drug dealer into an envelope for the convenient transportation of powdered drugs.
Postal service
Instead of using large overseas shipping containers, drug importers can use small packages delivered by Canada Post or a courier service.
A simple online search of "buy fentanyl online" produces numerous sellers — including one foreign pharmacy that promises "100 per cent anonymity and privacy," and "undetectable" parcels packed "carefully with tungsten and carbon papers to skip through customs' X-ray machines…"
Cargo shipments from overseas
In March 2014, border services officers found multiple shipments containing anabolic steroids and other import controlled substances at the CBSA Vancouver International Mail Centre and Vancouver International Airport.
Three B.C. men were charged.
