Police are issuing a warning after a drug bust in Simcoe yielded the seizure of a deadly combination drug known as "purple heroin".
The Ontario Provincial Police say back on January 18, officers seized over $30,000 in fentanyl, over $7,000 in cocaine and approximately $3,500 in cash at an address on Head St. N. As a result, two men and two women were arrested without incident.
On Tuesday, Health Canada identified the narcotics as containing heroin, morphine, fentanyl and carfentanil, which is the combination known as purple heroin.
Police say carfentanil alone is 100 times more powerful than fentanyl and 10,000 times more potent than morphine. Exposure to even a small amount can be fatal.
"Carfentanil is being mixed into illicit street drugs and, in most cases, the user is not even aware. The public needs to understand that any purchase of illegal street drugs carries the risk of a deadly opioid being mixed in with the primary drug," says Inspector Lisa Anderson, the interim detachment commander with Norfolk County OPP. "We want people to think twice, understand the risks and hopefully not purchase or consume illicit street drugs. I hope they know the overdose signs to watch for so they can get help for themselves or a friend before the situation turns into a fatal one."