Montreal police charge 3 in drug busts linked to fentanyl deaths

Montreal police say they're making headway in dismantling a drug operation linked to a spate of deadly fentanyl overdoses in August and September.

A 35-year-old man,25-year-old woman and a 28-year-old man will face charges for drug trafficking and possession for the purposeof trafficking.

Police are still looking for a fourth suspect.

"It was the fourth operation that we had regarding this group," said Cmdr. Christine Christie of Montreal police'sEast Division's drug squad.

We just got a higher level. The main stash.- Cmdr. Christine Christie, Montreal Police

"We just got a higher level," she said."The main stash."

The suspects were arrested on Friday during raids on two homes in Montreal's Hochelaga-Maisonneuve neighbourhood.Policesaythey seized 13 grams of cocaine, 9 grams of heroin and 24 grams of what they think is fentanyl.

The SPVMhas said it's trying to avert a public health crisis from the dangerous painkiller by going after distributors.

Christie says since March, they've tracked 160 drug overdoses. Of those, 25 were linked to fentanyl and resulted in sixdeaths.

Intravenous drug users 'concerned, afraid'

Fentanyl is an opioid100 times more powerful than heroin which iscut with other, more expensive, drugs to pad dealers' margins.

It's also extremely toxic even a small amount can lead to an overdose.

• A grain of sand: Why fentanyl is so deadly

According to Health Canada, 27 people in Quebec died last year from opioids containing fentanyl.That compares with 656 in British Columbia, considered the epicentre of Canada's opioid problem.

But peopleworking in harm reduction say they're preparing for the worst.

"This crisis is in Canada at the moment, for the last two years in the West Coast, and there's no reason why this kind of situation won't come to the east coast," said Martin Pag, executive director of the community organization Dopamine, which runs a safe-injection site in Hochelaga-Maisonneuve.

There's no reason why this kind of situation won't come to the east coast.- MartinPag, executive director,Dopamine

"People are concerned, they are afraid," he said.

Page says he understands the police are focused on making arrests, but says law enforcement is only part the solution.

"Repression can not stop what is going on on the street," he said. "Repression did not stop in Vancouver for example."

Mayor wants more first responders to carryantidote

In September, Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre met with top bosses from public health, the police service, the fire department and members of the city's executive committee to prepare an action plan for what he called "an anticipated crisis."

The mayor called for a pilot project to equip more first responders with naloxone, a drug that counteracts opioids like fentanyl.

At the time Coderre said the antidote had helped Montreal paramedics save 24 lives.