Drug charges against suspended pharmacist a 1st following fentanyl death

A suspended pharmacist is the first person in the province to be arrested on drug trafficking charges following a fentanyl-related death, police say.

Brian Cheung, 33, was arrested and charged with several drug offences after two overdoses in Winnipeg, one of which was fatal.

Cheung is charged with two counts of importing a scheduled substance and four counts of possession for the purpose of trafficking.

• Police looking for evidence at Richmond West home after suspected fentanyl overdoses

Cheung previously worked as a pharmacist, but was suspended in September2014, according to a College of Pharmacists of Manitoba newsletter from last year. He is not licensed in the province.

Const. Tammy Skrabek of the Winnipeg Police Service said the arrest is the first in the province related to a death caused by fentanyl or carfentanil.

"Given all of the negative results we've been getting due to fentanyl and carfentanil on the streets and the danger of the drug, it's been difficult to formulate a safe plan to seize the drugs, get them off the streets, and stop them from being produced," Skrabek said.

"This arrest is a step in the right direction."

Drug charges against suspended pharmacist a 1st following fentanyl death

8 years ago

Duration 1:08

A suspended pharmacist is the first person in the province to be arrested on drug trafficking charges following a fentanyl-related death, police say.

November overdoses lead to arrest

Skrabek said the arrest sends a message to drug traffickers.

"It lets them know we're taking it seriously and we've progressed to the next step, where we're looking into where the drugs are coming from, how to safely seize the drugs and remove them safely off the streets, and that we will be charging people in the future for these types of offences," Skrabek said.

"People ... bringing it [to Winnipeg] to sell can and will be charged."

The arrest and charges stem from an incident on Nov. 20, when emergency crews were called to a home on Kinlock Lane, in the Richmond West neighbourhood, regarding two men in medical distress.

Cheung was renting a room in that home at the time and had no relationship to the homeowner other than as a tenant, Skrabek said.

The men were rushed to hospital and one of them, a 22-year-old, was later pronounced dead. The other, a 21-year-old, was admitted to hospital in critical condition and has since been released.

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On Nov. 22, members of the police service's clandestine lab team seized drug paraphernalia and substances later confirmed to be hydromorphone, carfentanil and fentanyl from Cheung's room.

Four days later, the homeowner received a package addressed to Cheung and alerted police.

Police obtained a second search warrant for the package. It was seized and later discovered to contain an unknown quantity of fentanyl.

The package appearsto have been sent from Europe, Skrabek said.