A 21-year-old man is facing charges after police discovered suspected purple fentanyl in his possession.
Ontario Provincial Police responded to a disturbance call at 1:30 p.m. Friday on Talbot Street West in Leamington and soon arrested the man for violating a previous release order.
Officers soon found that the suspect was in possession of an unspecified quantity of purple fentanyl.
The Leamington man is charged with two counts of failing to comply with a release order and one count of possession of fentanyl with intent to sell.
The man was released from custody and will have a chance to respond to the charges during a later court date.
OPP Constable Steven Duguay said police are being forceful when it comes to getting such a potentially dangerous drug off the streets.
"Fentanyl is an extremely potent synthetic opioid prescribed to manage acute and chronic pain," said Duguay. "You can't see it. You can't smell it. You can't taste it. Fentanyl is lethal in quantities as small as two milligrams. That's equal to 32 grains of table salt or seven poppy seeds. If someone's drug of choice is mixed with or contains even a trace amount of fentanyl, it can kill them."
