Deadly opioid 40 times more powerful than fentanyl smuggled into Canada inside PlayStations, basketballs

The video telephone is grainy, but it's crystal wide what the idiosyncratic connected the telephone is trying to sell: illicit drugs, packaged and acceptable to beryllium shipped to Canada. 

The seller, who goes by the sanction Kim, says helium sells cocaine, methamphetamine, MDMA and nitazenes, a almighty people of synthetic opioids astir radical person ne'er heard of — but which tin beryllium up to 43 times much almighty than fentanyl.

"It tin termination people, right? So, I conscionable privation to marque definite that you cognize that," the CBC writer asks successful a secretly recorded telephone call.

"That is the game," the seller replies.

The seller is 1 of the 14 radical the CBC's ocular probe portion spoke to successful substance messages and telephone calls aft uncovering them done ads posted by users connected large societal media platforms specified as LinkedIn, X and Reddit and e-commerce websites advertizing nitazenes for sale. 

WATCH | How synthetic opioids get into Canada:

These ads, posted successful the open, incorporate interaction accusation that enactment CBC in interaction with cause dealers who assertion to beryllium portion of planetary transgression networks. CBC did not acquisition immoderate amerciable substances.

Nitazenes, which person ne'er been approved for aesculapian usage and are Schedule 1 drugs nether the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, person progressively been turning up successful cause busts crossed Canada.

Last year, 2 laboratory busts successful Quebec unsocial whitethorn person accounted for much than a cardinal counterfeit pharmaceutical oxycodone pills, which were really protonitazepyne, a benignant of nitazene — oregon "analog" — according to the RCMP.  

Nitazenes person killed hundreds of Canadians implicit the past 4 years, according to information collected by CBC's ocular investigations portion from coroners crossed the country.

"[North Americans] not lone are the largest consumers of nitazines, but truly person the biggest occupation arsenic it relates to the fig of deaths," said Alex Krotulski, manager of the Center for Forensic Science Research & Education successful Pennsylvania, a toxicology laboratory that tests for nitazenes successful Canada and the U.S. 

"This is truly becoming an established cause people of caller synthetic opioids."

A much potent high

Nitazenes aren't astir arsenic fashionable arsenic fentanyl and its analogs, but they connection a much potent high, making them appealing to cause dealers. Drug users mightiness not adjacent cognize they're consuming nitazenes, which tin beryllium laced into counterfeit pills.

"It makes maine angry," said Montreal nonmigratory Christian Boivin aft CBC shared its findings with him. Boivin's 15-year-old lad Mathis died of a nitazene overdose past twelvemonth aft consuming what helium thought were oxycodone pills. "[These sellers] don't person a conscience. They're atrocious radical and they conscionable privation money… they don't attraction astir lives."

Mathis's communicative isn't an isolated case. Because public-facing statistics group them as "non-fentanyl opioids," CBC reached retired to coroners successful each 13 provinces and territories to compile information connected the full fig of deaths from nitazenes successful Canada. 

The information received was incomplete — for example, Manitoba lone provided statistic for 2024 — but indicates determination person been astir 400 deaths straight attributed to nitazenes oregon suspected to impact nitazenes since 2021. The existent fig of deaths is apt adjacent higher. 

"I warrant you due to the fact that of the variability successful toxicology testing, the variability successful practices and variability successful backing availability… [the fig of deaths] is underreported," said Donna Papsun, a forensic toxicologist astatine Pennsylvania-based NMS Labs, which tests samples from crossed Canada. "If they're not looking for it, you can't find it."

Going by the disposable data, the astir deaths were successful Alberta, with 121 since 2021, followed by Quebec with 91 and B.C. with 81.

"We're disquieted that this volition proceed to emergence arsenic an ongoing threat," said Dan Anson, manager wide of quality and investigations for the Canada Border Services Agency.

Sellers uncover however they smuggle drugs

One of the ways that nitazenes marque their mode into Canada is done sellers who advertise connected societal media networks by posting images of powders overlaid with interaction information.

"Online ads are however this marketplace functions close now," Anson told CBC. 

CBC's ocular investigations unit, with enactment from open-source investigators astatine Bellingcat, recovered hundreds of ads successful user-generated posts for much than a twelve types of nitazenes connected societal media platforms, including X, Reddit, LinkedIn, Behance (a graphic plan website owned by Adobe), and e-commerce websites successful India specified arsenic Exporters India, Dial4trade and TradeIndia. They surfaced by the dozens successful Google representation searches for keywords related to nitazene analogs.

It often took specified minutes to person a reply aft responding to an online ad. Sellers were speedy to stock videos of their labs and products, adjacent offering a step-by-step usher connected however they would vessel the drugs to Canada: first, by mislabelling the packages, past by concealing them wrong PlayStation 5s, deflated basketballs, teapots and Chinese herbal packages. They would past beryllium shipped via courier oregon the mail. 

Previous reporting connected the taxable successful the U.K. adjacent had the drugs hidden successful canine nutrient and catering supplies.

One seller told a CBC newsman that shipments of nitazene could adjacent beryllium delivered the aforesaid time from Detroit, Mich., to Windsor, Ont.

Platforms respond to CBC's questions connected nitazene ads: 

"You'll spot immoderate beauteous bizarre levels of creativity erstwhile it comes to importing amerciable drugs," said Anson. "They're coming from online marketplaces ... and they're going to travel done postal courier."

When reached by CBC for comment, LinkedIn, Reddit and Adobe removed the posts containing ads that were flagged. X did not respond to a petition for remark and the flagged posts were inactive unrecorded astatine the clip of publishing.

A Google spokesperson said it complies with valid ineligible removal requests from the nationalist and authorities.

Dial4Trade and Exporters India, 2 India-based e-commerce platforms wherever ads were found, told CBC they added restrictions to artifact nitazene ads. TradeIndia, different platform, said it removed the flagged ads. 

A planetary network

It became wide that sellers of nitazenes are dispersed crossed the globe, and aren't ever who oregon wherever they purport to beryllium online. 

On the e-commerce tract TradeIndia, adjacent to the heading "Etonitazene Powder," was a representation of a brownish pulverization offered by a Chinese biotech company. On its website, the institution states "nothing is supra the quality health."

It has an code listed successful Shanghai that doesn't beryllium connected Google Maps. But the institution was speedy to explicate wherefore the code didn't beryllium erstwhile asked successful a secretly recorded telephone call.

"It's precise unsafe to merchantability successful China," a antheral who went by Jerry told a CBC newsman during a telephone with a Mandarin translator. Jerry said helium and his partners needed a fake code to marque the institution look real, but besides truthful they couldn't beryllium discovered by Chinese authorities.

Videos wrong overseas cause labs

To amusement they were morganatic distributors, they shared videos from their laboratory — and said the sanction of the CBC newsman and the day to beryllium the video's authenticity — and showed america past shipments to Canada. They adjacent offered to nonstop samples of nitazenes for escaped to trial for purity. 

But the sellers weren't conscionable from China. CBC spoke to sellers who claimed to vessel from the U.S., the U.K., India, adjacent the Philippines. 

Over video, 1 seller who said they're from the U.K. showed shipment records that helium said were for drugs going to Grande Prairie, Alta.

Like immoderate planetary trade, immoderate nitazene sellers said they were struggling with the interaction of U.S. tariffs. 

A idiosyncratic representing a institution called Umesh Enterprises that claimed to beryllium based retired of India said nitazenes are "coming from India.... owed to the issues going connected betwixt the U.S. and China with the tariffs," they said during a call. "There's been a batch of blockage from China so…. we spell with India."

The speaker, similar galore of the sellers, acknowledged that importing nitazenes to Canada is amerciable and knew however lethal these synthetic opioids tin be. 

"[These sellers] don't attraction however galore radical they instrumentality down oregon however galore families they hurt," said Toronto nonmigratory Dale Sutherland, whose 22-year-old lad Corey died from an overdose involving a nitazene successful 2022. 

"It's precise frustrating…. we person to person much regulations, much strict penalties."

In effect to CBC's findings, Canada's fentanyl czar, Kevin Brosseau, said successful a connection the "emergence of nitazenes, and different highly potent synthetic opioids, is thing I americium acrophobic astir and americium taking precise seriously."

Brosseau pointed to the national government's precocious tabled Bill C-2, oregon Strong Borders Act, which volition springiness Canada Post much authorization to unfastened message and region barriers to instrumentality enforcement inspecting message during an investigation.

Critics of the projected act accidental that it would curtail civilian liberties. This month, a conjugation of much than 300 civilian nine groups demanded the implicit withdrawal of Bill C-2, informing it would grow authorities surveillance.

Do you person immoderate tips connected this story? Please interaction Eric Szeto: eric.szeto@cbc.ca