TORONTO

Powerful opioid carfentanil found in 10 recent cases in London, Ont., police say

The Canadian Press Published Thursday, May 23, 2019 4:44PM EDT

In this photo released by the US Drug Enforcement Agency, DEA, and taken on Oct. 21, 2016, a sample of carfentanil is being analyzed at the DEA's Special Testing and Research Laboratory in Sterling, Va. (Russell Baer/U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration via AP)

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LONDON, Ont. -- Police in London, Ont., say they've found the powerful opioid carfentanil in drugs seized in 10 recent investigations.

They say they seized the drugs between March 20 and April 8 -- the same period in which five people died of suspected overdoses in the city.

Police Chief John Pare says it is not yet certain that carfentanil caused the deaths, but he is warning users to be aware the opioid is on the city's streets.

He is asking drug users to carry the antidote naloxone.

Carfentanil is 100 times more toxic than fentanyl.

More than 4,000 Canadians died from opioid overdoses in 2017, the latest full year where data is available.