Toronto

Alleged fentanyl dealer charged with manslaughter in Christmas Eve death

An alleged drug dealer from Oakville, Ont. has been charged with manslaughter and trafficking after a man who had used fentanyl died north of Toronto last Christmas Eve.

Oakville Man, 37, charged after man, 35, died following use of fentanyl in East Gwillimbury

An OPP officer displays bags containing fentanyl as Ontario Provincial Police host a news conference in Vaughan, Ont., on February 23, 2017. The RCMP has launched at least 20 investigations involving dozens of vendors shipping fentanyl from China as Canada grapples with a record number of illicit opioid deaths, the force's director of serious organized crime says. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young (Chris Young/Canadian Press)

An alleged fentanyl dealer from Oakville, Ont. has been charged with manslaughter and drug trafficking after a man who had used the drug died north of Toronto in December.

The alleged dealer, a 37-year-old man, is due to appear in a Newmarket courtroom on July 6. The victim, a 35-year-old man, was found dead in the Town of East Gwillimbury in a home on Christmas Eve last year.

In a news release on Monday, York Regional Police said investigators laid the charges after a lengthy investigation into the man's death. They said his death resulted from the use of fentanyl, a synthetic opioid more toxic than heroin.

The drug was purchased the day before the man died, police added.

Police were called to the home on Catering Road, near Warden Avenue and Ravenshoe Road, in the Town of East Gwillimbury at 2:30 p.m. on Dec. 24, 2017. The man was pronounced dead at the scene.

Investigators determined who had sold the fentanyl to the victim. And last Thursday, police arrested and charged the alleged dealer.

Anyone who may have bought drugs from the man or anyone who has more information about the death is urged to call police at  York Regional Police's criminal investigations bureau at 1-866-876-5423, ext.7341.