Windsor, Ont., man and woman charged with trying to import fentanyl from China

WINDSOR, Ont. – A man and a woman from Windsor, Ont., are facing charges after allegedly trying to import the deadly opioid fentanyl from China.

The RCMP says the Canada Border Services Agency intercepted a package destined for a Windsor address in Vancouver on Feb. 22 and analysis found it contained 14 grams of fentanyl.

Police say that’s enough for 140,000 medical doses of fentanyl, a prescription painkiller that is up to 100 times more potent than morphine and 20 times more toxic than heroin.

RCMP officers searched a Windsor home on Monday and arrested a 25-year-old man and a 27-year-old woman.

Police say they face charges of importation and possession for the purposes of trafficking, and conspiracy to import fentanyl.

Ontario’s coroner says more than 740 people died of fentanyl-related overdoses in the province from 2010 through 2015.

Dan Badour, director of enforcement and intelligence operations for the CBSA’s southern Ontario region, said in a release that the agency is committed to “intercepting this dangerous drug.”

“The RCMP is determined to reduce the total harmful effects caused by the opiate crisis by disrupting the supplies of illicit drugs,” said Insp. Kevin Keane.