Discovery of liquid fentanyl in Hamilton a ‘game changer’ for front-line cops
A police force in Ontario is revamping the way officers handle street drugs after learning that a substance seized during a drug raid was liquid fentanyl, a highly powerful opioid that can be easily absorbed through the skin.
Hamilton police Det. Const. Adam Brown said he and other officers came across a vial of the drug during a raid in May, but at the time they believed it contained GHB — also known as a date-rape drug.
The members of the force’s vice and drug unit wore protective gear to handle all the substances they came across during the raid, Brown said, which also included hash, marijuana, cocaine and oxycodone pills.
Police sent a sample of the suspected GHB to Health Canada for testing and the results showed it was actually liquid fentanyl.