7 overdoses linked to tainted drugs: Manitoba RCMP

The Manitoba RCMP is connecting seven overdoses in the province to a tainted drug source.

Six of these overdoses took place in The Pas, and one took place in Thompson.

Police began to investigate the tainted drugs on Saturday night, when they received a report of four unresponsive men at an establishment on Fischer Avenue in The Pas. Officers said these men had taken drugs, which were possibly ecstasy laced with an opioid.

Sgt. Paul Manaigre with RCMP Manitoba says they are working to confirm the relation between the Thompson and The Pas overdoses.

"We believe it's related to The Pas but like I say, until we can confirm through analysis, we're just going to put it out there that we believe, we suspect it,” Manaigre said. “A very pink-ish, purple-ish crystalline substance. Could be ecstasy, could be some type of meth product. That part of the analysis will come later on." 

Officers and emergency responders treated the men with naloxone. Three of the men, aged 33, 37 and 46, were revived and taken to the hospital.

The fourth man, 31-year-old Harlan Fourre, was taken to the hospital and later flown to the Brandon Regional Health Centre where he remains in critical condition.

His father, Joseph Fourre told CTV News his son is not expected to live.

"My son is not a drug addict. It was a recreational thing. Thought he was going to have fun one night," said Joseph.

Hours after the first call, RCMP received two more reports of overdoses at the same location. Two men were taken the hospital where they were treated and released.

The Pas' Mayor, Andre Murphy, says his town and surrounding communities were impacted by the overdoses.

"It hurts your heart, right, everybody has compassion for our fellow human beings and our neighbours and our friend," the mayor said. "You could almost start being a little bit angry because of you know what prevention plans are in place to be able to get this stuff off the street." 

The investigation continued on Sunday around 4:30 p.m. in Thompson, when a nurse at the Thompson General Hospital handed over a small box to an officer, who was at the hospital on an unrelated matter.

The officer examined the box, which contained seven vials of a crystal-like powder substance. RCMP notes that each vial contained about one gram of a suspected drug.

The RCMP officer went back to the detachment and did a field test on the powder substance. The test indicated the presence of an opioid. A sample of this drug has been sent for further analysis.

Supplied image of the field test results for the tainted drugs.

Police believe the drugs found in Thompson may be the same substance found in The Pas, which led to the overdoses of six men. One overdose in Thompson is also believed to be linked to these tainted drugs.

The Northern Health Region said in a statement to CTV News Winnipeg, "The NHR is working on public awareness/education communications as well as connecting with local businesses to provide education to distribute naloxone kits."

"We actually don't have an accurate number of the total overdoses that are happening," said Shohan Illsley, the executive director of Manitoba Harm Reduction Network. "Anecdotally, we know it is significantly more than the seven that were reported in just this weekend."

Illsley said the organization put out a drug alert in the hopes of saving lives.

"Last year, just over 400 people died of a drug poisonings or an overdose, and for every one person who actually dies we know there's actually many more overdoses."

Manitoba Harm Reduction Network will be holding two naloxone training sessions in The Pas on Tuesday and people can pick up a kit between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.

Joseph said it is important that parents talk to their kids about drugs and the dangers around them.

"When they go out at night, just tell them to be careful, you know, because you never know if that's the last night you're going to see them," said Joseph. 

Anyone with information about any of the overdoses is asked to call 204-627-6204 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.