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Man wanted on 5 warrants caught with 'substantial' amount of fentanyl: Transit police

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Transit police in Metro Vancouver say they arrested a person wanted on multiple warrants and who was carrying a significant amount of fentanyl.

Const. Darren Chua posted a photo of the seized drugs on social media Tuesday, saying an off-duty officer spotted the individual who was wanted on five warrants for firearms and weapons-related offences at the start of the week.

When the person was arrested, police found they were carrying "a substantial amount of deadly fentanyl."

Police didn't identify the wanted person.

Last week, provincial officials released the latest data on illicit drug overdoses. An average of 5.3 people died each day in March, the report said, and while the toll for the month did not break a record, this year is on track to be the deadliest yet in the crisis. 

"Fentanyl continues to be the predominant substance found in post-mortem testing," a statement from the B.C. Coroners Service released last month said. It was found in the bodies of 85 per cent of people who died in 2021. 

Data released last month included that extreme concentrations of the potent opioid were found in more than 20 per cent of deaths associated with the drug.

As has been the case for sometime, illicit drugs are by far the leading cause of unnatural deaths in B.C. Last year, a record-breaking 2,232 people died from illicit drugs, up from the previous record in 2020 of 1,767 people.

With files from CTV News Vancouver's Kendra Mangione 

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