A 48-year-old male from Sarnia has been charged with Trafficking a Controlled Substance – Fentanyl, after returning fake patches to his pharmacy as part of the local “Patch for Patch” program.
On May 25th, 2016, a local pharmacist contacted the Sarnia Police Service after noticing what appeared to be phony fentanyl patches being returned by a patient to the pharmacy. The VICE Unit conducted an investigation into this matter, and as a result, an analysis from Health Canada showed the samples were not any form of a controlled substance. It was later confirmed the product being returned to the pharmacy was two-ply packing tape that was cut and made to look like fentanyl patches.
The Sarnia Police Service would like to stress that this type of action can result in criminal charges and that the police and the medical community take this quite seriously. If people are unable to return their fentanyl patches in relation to a possible addiction issue, then they should speak with their family physician about seeking assistance with treatment for opioid addictions.
On December 30th, 2016, the accused was arrested and charged accordingly. In total, it is alleged that he returned 20 false fentanyl patches in total (10 x 12.5mcg and 10 x 25mcg) with a street value of $2200.00.
