Canadian man charged with counseling suicides; police warn of packages shipped to 40 nations

BRAMPTON, Ontario — Police in Canada arrested a person for allegedly promoting a deadly substance to individuals prone to self-harm and charged him with counseling suicide within the deaths of two Canadians.

Peel Regional Police stated the fees had been lodged late Tuesday in opposition to Kenneth Law, 57, of Mississauga, Ontario, after an investigation into two current deaths within the space.

Law appeared briefly in a Brampton, Ontario, court docket, on Wednesday and his case was put over to subsequent week.

Police stated Law used a sequence of internet sites to market and promote sodium nitrite, a substance generally used to treatment meats however that may be lethal.

The Globe and Mail reported that Law confirmed earlier than his arrest that he was promoting sodium nitrite on-line however that he denied any wrongdoing. “I’m selling a legal product, OK. And what the person does with it? I have no control,” he was quoted as saying.

Police stated their investigation discovered that at the very least 1,200 packages had been allegedly despatched by Law to over 40 nations. Authorities didn’t specify what the packages contained, however Peel Regional Deputy Police Chief Marc Andrews urged anybody who acquired a cargo from Law to contact suicide hotlines and police.

It is in opposition to the legislation in Canada for somebody to advocate suicide, though assisted suicide has been authorized since 2016 for individuals aged at the very least 18. Any grownup with a critical sickness, illness or incapacity could search assist in dying, however they need to ask for that help from a doctor.

The Canadian Press reported {that a} coroner’s report it obtained from the United Kingdom seems to level to at the very least one loss of life by suicide within the U.Okay. linked to a postal field in Mississauga and an organization title that police linked to Law.