Latest news with #drugtrafficking
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Deadly opioid 40 times more powerful than fentanyl smuggled into Canada inside PlayStations, basketballs
The video call is grainy, but it's crystal clear what the person on the phone is trying to sell: illicit drugs, packaged and ready to be shipped to Canada. The seller, who goes by the name Kim, says he sells cocaine, methamphetamine, MDMA and nitazenes, a powerful class of synthetic opioids most people have never heard of — but which can be up to 43 times more powerful than fentanyl. "It can kill people, right? So, I just want to make sure that you know that," the CBC journalist asks in a secretly recorded phone call. "That is the game," the seller replies. The seller is one of the 14 people the CBC's visual investigation unit spoke to in text messages and phone calls after finding them through ads posted by users on major social media platforms such as LinkedIn, X and Reddit and e-commerce websites advertising nitazenes for ads, posted in the open, contain contact information that put CBC in touch with drug dealers who claim to be part of international criminal networks. CBC did not purchase any illegal substances. Nitazenes, which have never been approved for medical use and are Schedule 1 drugs under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, have increasingly been turning up in drug busts across Canada. Last year, two lab busts in Quebec alone may have accounted for more than a million counterfeit pharmaceutical oxycodone pills, which were actually protonitazepyne, a type of nitazene — or "analog" — according to the RCMP. Nitazenes have killed hundreds of Canadians over the past four years, according to data collected by CBC's visual investigations unit from coroners across the country. "[North Americans] not only are the largest consumers of nitazines, but really have the biggest problem as it relates to the number of deaths," said Alex Krotulski, director of the Center for Forensic Science Research & Education in Pennsylvania, a toxicology lab that tests for nitazenes in Canada and the U.S. "This is really becoming an established drug class of novel synthetic opioids." Nitazenes aren't nearly as popular as fentanyl and its analogs, but they offer a more potent high, making them appealing to drug dealers. Drug users might not even know they're consuming nitazenes, which can be laced into counterfeit pills. "It makes me angry," said Montreal resident Christian Boivin after CBC shared its findings with him. Boivin's 15-year-old son Mathis died of a nitazene overdose last year after consuming what he thought were oxycodone pills. "[These sellers] don't have a conscience. They're bad people and they just want money… they don't care about lives." Mathis's story isn't an isolated case. Because public-facing statistics group them as "non-fentanyl opioids," CBC reached out to coroners in all 13 provinces and territories to compile data on the total number of deaths from nitazenes in Canada. The data received was incomplete — for example, Manitoba only provided statistics for 2024 — but indicates there have been nearly 400 deaths directly attributed to nitazenes or suspected to involve nitazenes since 2021. The true number of deaths is likely even higher. "I guarantee you because of the variability in toxicology testing, the variability in practices and variability in funding availability… [the number of deaths] is underreported," said Donna Papsun, a forensic toxicologist at Pennsylvania-based NMS Labs, which tests samples from across Canada. "If they're not looking for it, you can't find it." Going by the available data, the most deaths were in Alberta, with 121 since 2021, followed by Quebec with 91 and B.C. with 81. "We're worried that this will continue to rise as an ongoing threat," said Dan Anson, director general of intelligence and investigations for the Canada Border Services Agency. Sellers reveal how they smuggle drugs One of the ways that nitazenes make their way into Canada is through sellers who advertise on social media networks by posting images of powders overlaid with contact information. "Online ads are how this market functions right now," Anson told CBC. CBC's visual investigations unit, with support from open-source investigators at Bellingcat, found hundreds of ads in user-generated posts for more than a dozen types of nitazenes on social media platforms, including X, Reddit, LinkedIn, Behance (a graphic design website owned by Adobe), and e-commerce websites in India such as Exporters India, Dial4trade and TradeIndia. They surfaced by the dozens in Google image searches for keywords related to nitazene analogs. It often took mere minutes to receive a reply after responding to an online ad. Sellers were quick to share videos of their labs and products, even offering a step-by-step guide on how they would ship the drugs to Canada: first, by mislabelling the packages, then by concealing them inside PlayStation 5s, deflated basketballs, teapots and Chinese herbal packages. They would then be shipped via courier or the mail. Previous reporting on the topic in the U.K. even had the drugs hidden in dog food and catering supplies. One seller told a CBC reporter that shipments of nitazene could even be delivered the same day from Detroit, Mich., to Windsor, Ont. Platforms respond to CBC's questions on nitazene ads: "You'll see some pretty bizarre levels of creativity when it comes to importing illegal drugs," said Anson. "They're coming from online marketplaces ... and they're going to come through 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 request for comment and the flagged posts were still live at the time of publishing. A Google spokesperson said it complies with valid legal removal requests from the public and authorities. Dial4Trade and Exporters India, two India-based e-commerce platforms where ads were found, told CBC they added restrictions to block nitazene ads. TradeIndia, another platform, said it removed the flagged ads. A global network It became clear that sellers of nitazenes are spread across the globe, and aren't always who or where they purport to be online. On the e-commerce site TradeIndia, next to the heading "Etonitazene Powder," was a picture of a brown powder offered by a Chinese biotech company. On its website, the company states "nothing is above the human health." It has an address listed in Shanghai that doesn't exist on Google Maps. But the company was quick to explain why the address didn't exist when asked in a secretly recorded phone call. "It's very dangerous to sell in China," a man who went by Jerry told a CBC reporter during a call with a Mandarin translator. Jerry said he and his partners needed a fake address to make the company seem real, but also so they couldn't be discovered by Chinese authorities. To show they were legitimate distributors, they shared videos from their lab — and said the name of the CBC reporter and the date to prove the video's authenticity — and showed us past shipments to Canada. They even offered to send samples of nitazenes for free to test for purity. But the sellers weren't just from China. CBC spoke to sellers who claimed to ship from the U.S., the U.K., India, even the Philippines. Over video, one seller who said they're from the U.K. showed shipment records that he said were for drugs going to Grande Prairie, Alta. Like any global trade, some nitazene sellers said they were struggling with the impact of U.S. tariffs. A person representing a company called Umesh Enterprises that claimed to be based out of India said nitazenes are "coming from India.... due to the issues going on between the U.S. and China with the tariffs," they said during a call. "There's been a lot of blockage from China so…. we go with India." The speaker, like many of the sellers, acknowledged that importing nitazenes to Canada is illegal and knew how lethal these synthetic opioids can be. "[These sellers] don't care how many people they take down or how many families they hurt," said Toronto resident Dale Sutherland, whose 22-year-old son Corey died from an overdose involving a nitazene in 2022. "It's very frustrating…. we have to have more regulations, more strict penalties." In response to CBC's findings, Canada's fentanyl czar, Kevin Brosseau, said in a statement the "emergence of nitazenes, and other highly potent synthetic opioids, is something I am concerned about and am taking very seriously." Brosseau pointed to the federal government's recently tabled Bill C-2, or Strong Borders Act, which will give Canada Post more authority to open mail and remove barriers to law enforcement inspecting mail during an investigation. Critics of the proposed act say that it would curtail civil liberties. This month, a coalition of more than 300 civil society groups demanded the complete withdrawal of Bill C-2, warning it would expand government surveillance. Do you have any tips on this story? Please contact Eric Szeto:
CBC
2 hours ago
- CBC
Deadly opioid 40 times more powerful than fentanyl smuggled into Canada inside PlayStations, basketballs
Social Sharing The video call is grainy, but it's crystal clear what the person on the phone is trying to sell: illicit drugs, packaged and ready to be shipped to Canada. The seller, who goes by the name Kim, says he sells cocaine, methamphetamine, MDMA and nitazenes, a powerful class of synthetic opioids most people have never heard of — but which can be up to 43 times more powerful than fentanyl. "It can kill people, right? So, I just want to make sure that you know that," the CBC journalist asks in a secretly recorded phone call. "That is the game," the seller replies. The seller is one of the 14 people the CBC's visual investigation unit spoke to in text messages and phone calls after finding them through ads posted by users on major social media platforms such as LinkedIn, X and Reddit and e-commerce websites advertising nitazenes for sale. WATCH | How synthetic opioids get into Canada: Worse than fentanyl: How smugglers get a new, deadly drug into Canada 2 minutes ago Duration 5:37 A CBC News visual investigation tracks how deadly and super-potent synthetic opioids called nitazenes make their way into Canada, where they have killed hundreds of people. With open source support from investigators at Bellingcat, CBC finds hundreds of ads for nitazenes online, posted to social media and e-commerce sites, and talks to the sellers behind them to expose how these deadly drugs get smuggled to Canada. These ads, posted in the open, contain contact information that put CBC in touch with drug dealers who claim to be part of international criminal networks. CBC did not purchase any illegal substances. Nitazenes, which have never been approved for medical use and are Schedule 1 drugs under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, have increasingly been turning up in drug busts across Canada. Last year, two lab busts in Quebec alone may have accounted for more than a million counterfeit pharmaceutical oxycodone pills, which were actually protonitazepyne, a type of nitazene — or "analog" — according to the RCMP. Nitazenes have killed hundreds of Canadians over the past four years, according to data collected by CBC's visual investigations unit from coroners across the country. "[North Americans] not only are the largest consumers of nitazines, but really have the biggest problem as it relates to the number of deaths," said Alex Krotulski, director of the Center for Forensic Science Research & Education in Pennsylvania, a toxicology lab that tests for nitazenes in Canada and the U.S. "This is really becoming an established drug class of novel synthetic opioids." A more potent high Nitazenes aren't nearly as popular as fentanyl and its analogs, but they offer a more potent high, making them appealing to drug dealers. Drug users might not even know they're consuming nitazenes, which can be laced into counterfeit pills. "It makes me angry," said Montreal resident Christian Boivin after CBC shared its findings with him. Boivin's 15-year-old son Mathis died of a nitazene overdose last year after consuming what he thought were oxycodone pills. "[These sellers] don't have a conscience. They're bad people and they just want money… they don't care about lives." Mathis's story isn't an isolated case. Because public-facing statistics group them as "non-fentanyl opioids," CBC reached out to coroners in all 13 provinces and territories to compile data on the total number of deaths from nitazenes in Canada. The data received was incomplete — for example, Manitoba only provided statistics for 2024 — but indicates there have been nearly 400 deaths directly attributed to nitazenes or suspected to involve nitazenes since 2021. The true number of deaths is likely even higher. "I guarantee you because of the variability in toxicology testing, the variability in practices and variability in funding availability… [the number of deaths] is underreported," said Donna Papsun, a forensic toxicologist at Pennsylvania-based NMS Labs, which tests samples from across Canada. "If they're not looking for it, you can't find it." Going by the available data, the most deaths were in Alberta, with 121 since 2021, followed by Quebec with 91 and B.C. with 81. "We're worried that this will continue to rise as an ongoing threat," said Dan Anson, director general of intelligence and investigations for the Canada Border Services Agency. Sellers reveal how they smuggle drugs One of the ways that nitazenes make their way into Canada is through sellers who advertise on social media networks by posting images of powders overlaid with contact information. "Online ads are how this market functions right now," Anson told CBC. CBC's visual investigations unit, with support from open-source investigators at Bellingcat, found hundreds of ads in user-generated posts for more than a dozen types of nitazenes on social media platforms, including X, Reddit, LinkedIn, Behance (a graphic design website owned by Adobe), and e-commerce websites in India such as Exporters India, Dial4trade and TradeIndia. They surfaced by the dozens in Google image searches for keywords related to nitazene analogs. It often took mere minutes to receive a reply after responding to an online ad. Sellers were quick to share videos of their labs and products, even offering a step-by-step guide on how they would ship the drugs to Canada: first, by mislabelling the packages, then by concealing them inside PlayStation 5s, deflated basketballs, teapots and Chinese herbal packages. They would then be shipped via courier or the mail. Previous reporting on the topic in the U.K. even had the drugs hidden in dog food and catering supplies. One seller told a CBC reporter that shipments of nitazene could even be delivered the same day from Detroit, Mich., to Windsor, Ont. Platforms respond to CBC's questions on nitazene ads: "You'll see some pretty bizarre levels of creativity when it comes to importing illegal drugs," said Anson. "They're coming from online marketplaces ... and they're going to come through 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 request for comment and the flagged posts were still live at the time of publishing. A Google spokesperson said it complies with valid legal removal requests from the public and authorities. Dial4Trade and Exporters India, two India-based e-commerce platforms where ads were found, told CBC they added restrictions to block nitazene ads. TradeIndia, another platform, said it removed the flagged ads. A global network It became clear that sellers of nitazenes are spread across the globe, and aren't always who or where they purport to be online. On the e-commerce site TradeIndia, next to the heading "Etonitazene Powder," was a picture of a brown powder offered by a Chinese biotech company. On its website, the company states "nothing is above the human health." It has an address listed in Shanghai that doesn't exist on Google Maps. But the company was quick to explain why the address didn't exist when asked in a secretly recorded phone call. "It's very dangerous to sell in China," a man who went by Jerry told a CBC reporter during a call with a Mandarin translator. Jerry said he and his partners needed a fake address to make the company seem real, but also so they couldn't be discovered by Chinese authorities. Videos inside overseas drug labs To show they were legitimate distributors, they shared videos from their lab — and said the name of the CBC reporter and the date to prove the video's authenticity — and showed us past shipments to Canada. They even offered to send samples of nitazenes for free to test for purity. But the sellers weren't just from China. CBC spoke to sellers who claimed to ship from the U.S., the U.K., India, even the Philippines. Over video, one seller who said they're from the U.K. showed shipment records that he said were for drugs going to Grande Prairie, Alta. Like any global trade, some nitazene sellers said they were struggling with the impact of U.S. tariffs. A person representing a company called Umesh Enterprises that claimed to be based out of India said nitazenes are "coming from India.... due to the issues going on between the U.S. and China with the tariffs," they said during a call. "There's been a lot of blockage from China so…. we go with India." The speaker, like many of the sellers, acknowledged that importing nitazenes to Canada is illegal and knew how lethal these synthetic opioids can be. "[These sellers] don't care how many people they take down or how many families they hurt," said Toronto resident Dale Sutherland, whose 22-year-old son Corey died from an overdose involving a nitazene in 2022. "It's very frustrating…. we have to have more regulations, more strict penalties." In response to CBC's findings, Canada's fentanyl czar, Kevin Brosseau, said in a statement the "emergence of nitazenes, and other highly potent synthetic opioids, is something I am concerned about and am taking very seriously." Brosseau pointed to the federal government's recently tabled Bill C-2, or Strong Borders Act, which will give Canada Post more authority to open mail and remove barriers to law enforcement inspecting mail during an investigation. Critics of the proposed act demanded the complete withdrawal of Bill C-2, warning it would expand government surveillance.
Free Malaysia Today
2 hours ago
- Free Malaysia Today
Cops bust drug ring using rented cars, hotels to avoid detection
Sepang police chief Norhizam Bahaman said the suspects earned about RM1,600 for each drug delivery. (Bernama pic) PETALING JAYA : Police have busted a drug trafficking syndicate that used rented cars and hotel rooms for the past nine years to avoid being detected by the cops. Sepang police chief Norhizam Bahaman said a married couple and two men, aged between 27 and 39, were arrested in an operation at 6pm on Wednesday. In addition to seizing various types of drugs, the cops also confiscated two rented cars that they believe the syndicate used for drug trafficking, Bernama reported. 'All four suspects are believed to have been active in drug trafficking activities since 2016, and they are believed to have used rented cars to distribute the drugs. 'They are also believed to have rented hotels as accommodation to avoid being detected by the authorities,' he said, adding that the suspects earned about RM1,600 for each drug delivery. Two of the suspects have criminal records, including for narcotics-related cases, while all three men tested positive for drugs. The woman tested negative.
Arab News
4 hours ago
- Arab News
Islamabad's first woman to lead men's police station takes on drug lords, land mafia
ISLAMABAD: Tucked amid the dust and bustle of Islamabad's fringes, the suburb of Phulgran has long been a magnet for trouble: drug dens, land-grabbing, and a loose grip on law and order. But now, it has something new: a phenomenon. In her blue uniform and a modest headscarf, Misbah Shahbaz quietly took charge in 2025 as Station House Officer (SHO) of Phulgran, Islamabad's first-ever female SHO at a general, or men's, police station. The post of SHO is one of the most visible and operationally significant leadership roles in Pakistan's police hierarchy, responsible for crime investigation, public safety, and station-level administration. Until now, female SHOs in Islamabad had only led women police stations. 'It's a historic decision, and I feel very proud,' Shahbaz told Arab News as she walked through a briefing with her team. Phulgran sits at the nexus of rural sprawl and urban ambition, where narcotics and land mafias thrive. Shahbaz's three-fold roadmap is simple: Clean up the drug trade, target land-grab networks, and raise the ethical bar in policing. Methodical yet unspoken in her stride, she is already tackling the tough territory: 'Drug trafficking is a major concern. I've already developed strategies … and God willing, you'll soon see the results.' Her academic résumé reads like an MBA case study: she holds a Master's and an MBA. But she insisted: 'I've always been drawn to the uniform … This was never about the degree, it was about a passion to serve.' Back in 2012, Shahbaz took one of the 87 Assistant Sub-Inspector slots based strictly on merit. And that was just the beginning of a journey in which she says her male colleagues largely treated her as an equal. 'I was lucky to have excellent mentors, all-male officers who treated me no differently,' she said. 'They taught me the finer points of investigation, from identifying subtle clues to interviewing techniques.' Today, when Shahbaz rolls through Phulgran in her official vehicle, residents pause. Men nod, women whisper encouragement and in the sidewalks, young girls see her, and absorb a message: you, too, can wear the badge. 'She's not less than any man,' a constable under her command said. 'In fact, she leads better.' TURNING TIDE? Let's zoom out: Pakistan's police force is staggeringly male. According to the National Police Bureau (NPB) and UN Women Pakistan as of 2023, only about 3.2 % of officers are women, just 15,509 women out of 489,645 total. And while Islamabad fares slightly better, with around 5% of women, most provinces hover at 1–4%. A mandatory 10 % quota exists but the officers actually recruited, trained, and retained are far fewer. In some provinces, it's under 1%. So, Shahbaz's promotion is more than symbolic. She's a breakthrough not just for Islamabad but for an entire force held back by gender disparity. With so few female officers, women are often reluctant to report crimes, especially those involving domestic or gender-based issues. Experts also say the absence of women in decision-making and field leadership reduces community trust in law enforcement. Female officers like Shahbaz could change that balance. And her rise isn't just a personal triumph. It's the latest clue in the slow shift in a system where less than 1 in 30 cops is a woman. As the police officer said: 'Islamabad Police already have a reputation for professionalism but I want to raise the bar so that every citizen feels heard and respected.'
ABC News
6 hours ago
- ABC News
Coolum police investigation uncovers drug ring, seven people charged
Police have charged seven people with 105 offences uncovered during an investigation into a massive drug ring. Officers at Coolum, on Queensland's Sunshine Coast, launched the investigation to detect, disrupt and dismantle drug trafficking and supply. The operation began after police intercepted a white Mazda CX-5 on David Low Way at Pacific Paradise on August 23 last year. The driver, a 34-year-old Woodridge woman, tested positive to a roadside drug test. Police then searched her car and allegedly found dangerous drugs, cash, and suspected tainted property. An investigation led Coolum officers to arrest the 34-year-old woman on May 31. She was charged with 26 drug offences, including 24 counts of supplying dangerous drugs, including cannabis, psilocybin and methylamphetamine. She was also charged with one count of trafficking cannabis. She is due to appear before Maroochydore Magistrates Court on June 23. Police said separate charges arose from an investigation that started after they searched a 29-year-old Peregian Springs man in Coolum Beach on February 23. Officers charged the man on May 8 with 16 offences. They included trafficking cocaine, methylamphetamine, MDMA, alprazolam and cannabis. He was issued a notice to appear in Maroochydore Magistrates Court on June 12. Police then did a welfare check on a man reportedly asleep in a white Nissan Navara in a car park on Elizabeth Street at Coolum Beach on April 12. The driver returned a positive roadside breath test. Police then searched his car and allegedly found drug utensils and dangerous drugs. The 19-year-old Marcus Beach man was charged on June 12 with 32 offences, including one count each of trafficking cocaine and MDMA. He was issued a notice to appear in Maroochydore Magistrates Court on July 14. Police raided properties in the Coolum area on June 12 in relation to more suspected drug activity. Asa a result, officers allegedly found electronic devices, dangerous drugs, drug utensils and a weapon at a Marcoola property. A 35-year-old Marcoola man was then charged 11 offences, including possession of cocaine, GHB, methylamphetamine and cannabis. He was also charged with possessing a taser. He was issued a notice to appear in Maroochydore Magistrates Court on July 17. Meanwhile, police allegedly found electronic devices, dangerous drugs and drug utensils while searching a Peregian Springs property. A 37-year-old Peregian Springs man was then charged with three offences, while a 36-year-old Peregian Springs woman was charged with four offences, including possessing methylamphetamine. They are both due to appear in Maroochydore Magistrates Court on July 21. Further north, police allegedly found electronic devices, dangerous drugs, and drug utensils while searching a Tewantin property. A 36-year-old Tewantin woman was charged with 13 offences, including four counts of supplying methylamphetamine. She was remanded in custody and to next appear at Maroochydore Magistrates Court on July 14. Sunshine Coast Northern Patrol Group officer John Mahony said the investigations were focused on stopping the movement of dangerous and illegal drugs. "Most of the people charged under this operation became known to police through roadside drug tests or stop searches on the street," Inspector Mahony said. "This is core duty proactive policing and shows the dedication by local police to thoroughly investigate a person when they have allegedly been located with dangerous drugs. "We're committed to disrupting drug traffickers and suppliers to prevent harmful substances hitting the streets and impacting our community."
