Drug precursors are new ‘major threat’ entering Canada as fentanyl imports fall

As criminal networks shift to domestic production of fentanyl and other opioids, the focus of law enforcement on the Canadian border is now shifting to the chemicals used to make the deadly drugs.

of Public Health Agency of Canada estimates Since 2016, more than 47,000 Canadians have died from toxic drug overdoses. Four out of five accidental overdose deaths recorded in Canada this year involved fentanyl.

The shift from importing opioids to manufacturing them on Canadian soil largely began in 2019, when the Chinese government designated fentanyl as a controlled substance and imposed further restrictions on its production and export.

Since then, organized crime groups have focused on importing and smuggling into Canada chemicals used to make fentanyl and other opioids, known as precursors.

“The precursor may be [the] “Things that contribute to the deaths of Canadians are the biggest threat coming into Canada,” said Dan Anson, director of the Canada Border Services Agency’s Intelligence and Investigations Directorate.

But detecting precursors at borders can be difficult, especially if they are unregulated, Anson said.

“They are difficult to find because identifying what the chemicals are requires some level of front-end detection technology capability,” he said.

The government last week announced details of a $1.3 billion plan to secure the Canada-U.S. border and allay U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s concerns about immigration and drugs.

A significant amount of that funding is aimed at regulating precursors and interdicting them at borders. The government has promised to use artificial intelligence and imaging tools to help law enforcement and border officials detect warning signs.

Ottawa also said it would shorten processing time for precursor bans from 36 months to six months and create a new Chemical Precursor Risk Management Unit within Health Canada to help law enforcement intercept chemicals. I promise to do that.

Anson said one of the challenges facing the CBSA is the fact that some precursors are legal and have “dual use.”

“There are very few chemicals that don’t have two uses, a dual use. So a lot of these chemicals are used for cleaning and manufacturing in other areas,” he said. Ta.

However, Jennifer Perry, director of Health Canada’s Controlled Substances and Overdose Division, said all of the chemicals essential to making fentanyl are illegal in Canada.

“While there are several additional chemicals that can be used to illegally manufacture fentanyl, the reality is that it is impossible to manufacture fentanyl unless we have one of the key components that we control. ” she told CBC News.

Perry said the government was careful not to over-regulate precursors or “commodity chemicals” that have multiple uses.

“For these chemicals that have a wide range of legitimate uses, regulatory scheduling implications are possible. [Controlled Drugs and Substances Act] It will be tough. “That would basically shut down a lot of legitimate commerce,” she said.

“So what we’ve done is focus on the critical components.”

Organized crime groups are trying to evade regulations through what Anson calls “chemical masking,” or breaking down precursors into precursors to avoid detection.

“You don’t see chemical masking often, but it’s a technique we’re familiar with,” he said.

Precursor problem

Perry said Health Canada is trying to stay ahead of chemical masking by anticipating all the ways precursors can break down. She explained the process using Lego minifigures as a metaphor.

“So we scheduled Lego minifigures and made it illegal to import Lego minifigures. So the first thing organized crime does is put a hat on a Lego minifigure and say, ‘Well, It’s not regulated, right?’ And that’s what we call a precursor,” she said.

“What we do when we schedule a LEGO minifigure is whether the LEGO minifigure is wearing a hat, different hair, maybe a cloak, whatever the LEGO minifigure is controlling. So we basically control everything related to LEGO minifigures.”

Perry said new chemicals emerge from time to time, but they are typically detected at the border and then sent to Health Canada for testing and, if necessary, regulatory processes.

Almost ‘100 percent’ of precursors come from China

The US blamed the Chinese government turn a blind eye to companies Other companies sell chemicals elsewhere in the world that may be used to make fentanyl. The US government is Chinese companies under sanctions And they accuse Washington of profiting from trade without facing domestic consequences.

Anson said “nearly 100 per cent” of the precursors seized at the Canadian border come from China.

“South Asia has other manufacturing facilities, feedstock production regions and industrial regions, so we are looking at changing patterns in that,” he said.

“But in the case of Canada, we see that the majority of the precursor chemicals are coming from China.”

Anson said criminals use a variety of hiding spots to smuggle chemicals into Canada.

“Our seizures will be anything from sea containers to air cargo containers to even mail, so it’s very important for us to remain vigilant against all of this.” said.

As the City of Ottawa prepares to use artificial intelligence as a tool to detect precursors entering Canada, Anson suggests organized crime groups could use it to subvert regulations. did.

“When you do chemical composition and structuring, there are a lot more resources out there now, so you may not need to hire bioengineering or science/chemistry graduates. It could be someone who has an understanding.’ Chaining through AI,” he said.

Anson said staying on top of criminal networks and their methods is a continuous game of adaptation.

“We learn from one seizure, apply it to 100 more seizures, and from those 100 seizures we create another targeting rule that catches patterns that indicate something might not be right. ” he said.