Eight overdose on laced cocaine

By Joel Wittnebel/The Oshawa Express

Cocaine possibly laced with another substance have led Durham Regional Police to believe it is the cause of a series of eight overdoses from June 9 to 11 across Durham Region.

While no tests have been confirmed, DRPS suspect that the cocaine ingested in these overdoses may have been laced with fentanyl or another similar substance.

The first incident occurred on June 9 at around 10 p.m. when officers were called to the former Cullen Gardens location on Taunton Road in Whitby.

Police say that three male parties, aged 18 to 20, went to a gazebo at the Cullen Gardens location and ingested cocaine. All three males fell to the ground and were unresponsive. A friend called 911 and emergency services arrived quickly. ‎Officers from several DRPS units set up an emergency run so the males could get to hospital as quickly as possible. Two of the unconscious males were given Narcan on the way, while the other started to become conscious on his own.

That same night, officers were called to a residence on Thomas Street in Oshawa to assist paramedics after three male victims had ingested cocaine and were “experiencing difficulties” while one male was unconscious, a release from DRPS states.

Early on June 10, a seventh male overdosed on cocaine in Oshawa following which he was rushed to hospital, and on June 11, a 19-year-old male in Ajax ingested cocaine and after feeling unwell, was taken to hospital.

According to George Tudos, spokesperson with the DRPS, all eight individuals are expected to make full recoveries.

Currently, members of the DRPS Drug Enforcement Unit are investigating these incidents to determine if there are any connections.

For Tudos, it’s hard to gauge, but says that these cases are difficult to track, both in the number of occurrences and circumstances, suggesting that perhaps there are incidents that go unreported.

“Sometimes it’s hard to gauge the numbers because people may not even call us, they may just go to hospital,” he says, adding in these cases, when illicit drugs are involved, gathering the information can be difficult.  “People are not going to be as truthful or as forthcoming to police,” Tudos says.

Police are now urging parents to have candid conversations with their teenagers regarding the dangers of ingesting any illegal substances as there are no guarantees the drug has not been mixed with other substances.

“We’re trying our best to combat it,” Tudos says of the increasing number of opioid incidents in the region. “It’s like gambling, you don’t know what you’re going to get.”

Anyone with information about these incidents is asked to call the DRPS Drug Enforcement Unit at 1-888-579-1520 ext. 5805.