Regina police highlight lethality of fentanyl following 9 kilogram seizure

At the most recent Board of Police Commissioners meeting, Regina police commented on a recent bust where over nine kilograms of fentanyl were seized.

“There was a substantial amount of drugs recovered. It’s obviously in the city so it’s no doubt destined for within,” Chief Farooq Sheikh told reporters on Tuesday. “I can’t say where or who, but I was really impressed with the work that our staff had done.”

On Feb. 16, Regina police recorded seized one of the largest amounts of fentanyl in the city’s history.

Members of the Regina Police Service’s (RPS) drug unit as well as tactical support officers executed a search warrant at a business on the 1900 block of Saskatchewan Drive.

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The operation ended with the arrest of three people as well as seizure of firearms, $20,000 in cash and several types of narcotics – including fentanyl.

The three accused face a combined 27 charges – mainly consisting of trafficking and firearms counts.

Chief Farooq Sheikh speaking to reporters at the Board of Police Commissioners meeting. (Hallee Mandryk/CTV News)

Fentanyl can be lethal in doses as low as two milligrams. Using this particular metric, the seizure in Regina contained 4.5 million lethal doses.

In the month of January, Regina saw 31 overdoses, 17 of which were fatal.

“Our drugs unit and all the other units coming together because that would’ve hit the hands of a lot of communities, a lot of people, and potentially could’ve ended up resulting in a lot more overdoses as well,” Sheikh added.

The police service’s report for January 2024 also outlined a 9.7 per cent increase in crimes against people while crimes against property showed a 25.4 per cent decrease from January 2023.