North Vancouver RCMP is warning the public of potentially contaminated street drugs after two people died of suspected overdoses on Monday.
The victims, a man and woman in their 30s, were found dead in their home after apparently inhaling illegal narcotics.
Investigators believe both died suddenly and suspect the drugs they were using were laced with a deadly substance, according to an RCMP news release issued late Monday night.
The bodies have been turned over to the B.C. Coroners Service, which is working quickly to determine what drugs they were taking and to find the exact cause of death.
“What we’re trying to do is expedite our toxicology testing as quickly as possible so if there are issues around contaminated drugs, we can get out any warnings that we need to,” said coroner Barb McLintock. “We’ve said this could be an urgent problem and please put it to the top of the queue.”
Despite collecting samples from the scene, neither the officers on the scene nor the coroner could identify what drugs the couple had been taking.
In the meantime, the North Vancouver RCMP are concerned for the safety of anyone using street drugs and are warning them to take extra precautions, states the release from Cpl. Geoff Harder, North Vancouver RCMP spokesman.
Surrey RCMP issued a similar warning on July 15 after eight suspected heroin overdoses were reported over two days. Police do not know if the North Vancouver deaths were related.
