Police in Australia say they’ve seized the largest shipment of fentanyl ever found in the country, and it was shipped from Vancouver, BC..Totalling more than five million potentially fatal doses, the Australian Federal Police (AFP) found 11 kg of pure fentanyl powder hidden inside an industrial wooden lathe sent from Vancouver to the Port of Melbourne..AFP also seized 30 kg of methamphetamine hidden in the lathe..The shipment arrived at the port December 2021, however authorities said the container wasn’t inspected until February 2022 when they uncovered nearly 60 kg of powdered substances, prompting an investigation into the massive importation.. AFP . AFP . AFP .“People who use illicit drugs can never be certain what they are ingesting and this seizure highlights the potentially lethal game of Russian roulette they play,” said AFP acting Commander Anthony Hall..“We don’t want to see Australia joining other countries in that deadly game.”.Used primarily for medical purposes in Australia, the fast-acting and highly addictive opioid it has become commonplace in North American illicit drug markets..In the US, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates 75,673 opioid overdose-related deaths occurred in the US during 2021 alone..The Public Health Agency of Canada estimates a total of 26,690 opioid toxicity deaths occurred in Canada between January 2016 and September 2021 — with the majority in BC, Alberta, and Ontario..Now the leading cause of unnatural death in the province, the overdose crisis was declared a public health emergency in BC in 2016, and since then more than 10,000 British Columbians have died as a result of illicit drugs — with fentanyl being detected in 88% of the deaths between July 2020 and June 2022..READ MORE: Dark web fentanyl from BC tied to US Navy deaths.READ MORE: BC's drug overdose crisis has killed more than 10,000.“This was a massive amount of Fentanyl. The excellent work of our officers prevented these deadly drugs from reaching our streets, which has undoubtedly saved many, many lives,” ABF Commander Maritime and Enforcement South James Watson, describing the importation as "a total act of bastardry.".RCMP has not provided a statement and no arrests have been made.
