THUNDER BAY — A spokesperson for the Guns and Gangs Unit of the Thunder Bay Police Service says it's gratifying to see that courts are recognizing the serious threat posed by fentanyl.
Detective Sergeant Shawn Harrison reacted Wednesday to the recent sentencing of 39-year-old Abel Solano-Santana, saying fentanyl is causing deaths across the country, and is a growing concern in Thunder Bay.
A Thunder Bay judge sentenced the Ottawa man to eight years in prison for possessing fentanyl for the purpose of trafficking.
Fentanyl is an opioid that is up to 100 times more toxic than morphine, making the risk of accidental overdose much higher.
Solano-Santana had been identified as a fentanyl trafficker during Project Coast, a major drug investigation started in 2015 in northeastern Ontario involving the OPP and the Nishnawbe Aski Police Service.
He was arrested In April 2016 on outstanding warrants after a traffic stop in Thunder Bay.
Police found Solanlo-Santano was carrying a zip-lock baggie containing nearly 500 pills which appeared to be Percocets but which were identified later as fentanyl. Police also discovered nearly 5,000 pills in his hotel room.
The man had a history of criminal convictions, including for drug offences, breaking and entering, assault and uttering threats.
The Crown asked for a sentence of 10 years, while Solano-Santana's lawyer argued for four years, given that his client "was treated poorly by his mother growing up, and that he now has a young family."
In outlining his reasons for sentencing, the Superior Court justice noted that fentanyl "poses a huge and potentially lethal risk to its buyers and users, and also to other members of the community, such as police officers."
With credit for three years of presentence custody, Solano-Santana's effective sentence is five years in Stoney Mountain Penitentiary.
The judge also imposed a lifetime ban on the possession of any weapon.
Detective Sergeant Harrison said Ontario judges are recognizing the "menace" that fentanyl poses to society, and are making dealers account for their actions.
Harrison noted that it's difficult for drug users to know if they are even ingesting fentanyl. "In this case, the officers who dealt with Santana thought the pills were Percocets." He said it's possible somebody who was looking for Percocets wouldn't know it was fentanyl "until it was too late."
Nearly 4,000 Canadians died from apparent opioid overdoses last year, a 33 per cent increase from 2016.
