Manitoba

Counterfeit Xanax pills with fentanyl, other drugs circulating in Winnipeg, police warn

Police warn users that these pills could lead to severe harm or even death.

Pills could lead to severe harm or even death, the Winnipeg Police Service says

Police say they have reliable information that pills containing fentanyl or other unknown synthetic drugs are circulating. (Home Bass/Facebook)

Counterfeit pills that instead contain potentially deadly synthetic drugs are circulating in Winnipeg, police warned on Friday.

Members of the Winnipeg Police Service's guns and gangs unit recently received what police described as "reliable information" that a number of counterfeit alprazolam pills (a drug sold under the brand name Xanax) were found to contain fentanyl or other unknown synthetic drugs, a Friday news release said.

Police warn users that these pills could lead to severe harm or even death.

Anyone with information about drug trafficking is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 204-786-8477 or submit an anonymous tip online at winnipegcrimestoppers.org.

In the meantime, police advise drug users to never use alone and to carry naloxone if opioids could be present.

Anyone experiencing or witnessing a drug overdose should immediately contact 911, police say.

The federal Good Samaritan Drug Overdose Act protects people from criminal charges if they seek emergency help for an overdose.

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