'Significant quantity' of fentanyl seized from home during drug bust

Police seized 1.6 kilograms of fentanyl, 200 grams of cocaine and two loaded handguns from a Cornwall, P.E.I., home last week, according to RCMP.

A 38-year-old man and a 37-year-old woman — both from Cornwall — were arrested as part of an ongoing investigation, according to police. They face numerous drug trafficking and firearm-related charges. 

"Fentanyl is a very dangerous drug," said RCMP Const. Gavin Moore, calling 1.6 kilograms a "significant quantity" — the largest fentanyl seizure he's seen on P.E.I. 

Moore said fentanyl can be fatal in its most common formulation, although it comes in a variety of both weaker and stronger formulations.

The RCMP Queens District street crime unit with the federal serious and organized crime unit were part of the seizure, Moore said. 

This kind of operation, Moore said, is potentially very dangerous. Officers from P.E.I. and elsewhere who are specially trained in dealing with fentanyl were brought in, because the drug could be absorbed by skin or breathed in inadvertently. 

The pressed fentanyl has a brand stamped on it, something Moore said isn't unusual. 

"You can see fentanyl in all kinds of different shapes and sizes and colours. In its purest form most often it's white, but it often will be mixed with other materials and can change the colour and its form to look like a lot of different things."

'One million doses'

"At 1.6 kilograms ... in some common formulations, one kilogram could make as many as one million doses," Moore said.

Tessa Rogers, street outreach co-ordinator with PEERS Alliance said the group is very concerned about fentanyl on the streets. 

"Fentanyl is a common thing because it is a cheap drug that people can make an abundance of. It is a synthetic opioid so a lot of it is man-made and what we're seeing in the street supply is not pharmaceutical-grade fentanyl," she said. 

Rogers said there are ways to help protect yourself if you're using, including testing your drugs with fentanyl test strips, not using alone, as well as having naloxone on hand in case there is an overdose.  

The man who was charged has been remanded into custody and is scheduled to appear in provincial court Feb. 8. 

The woman was released on strict conditions and is scheduled to appear in court Feb. 9.