Montreal police have arrested two people suspected of selling synthetic opioids.
The arrests are tied to the death of a 15-year-old boy who overdosed in December 2023 in the Sud-Ouest borough, the police said.
The two suspects, a 24-year-old man and 17-year-old boy, face drug trafficking charges and possession of illegal drugs with intent to traffic.
The 24-year-old was slated to appear in court on Wednesday. The 17-year-old will appear in youth court at a later date.
In addition to the arrests, police conducted three raids in residential buildings and another in a vehicle, seizing about 100 pills.
On Dec. 22, 2023, Mathis Boivin, 15, died after overdosing on Nitazene, a synthetic opioid five times stronger than fentanyl.
His father, Christian Boivin said he felt “a lot of emotion” when he received a call from police announcing arrests tied to the death of his son.
“It puts balm on the injury,” he said.
Christian has, since his son’s death, spoken publicly in schools to spread awareness about the dangers of opioids. He said he hopes governments are more active and spend more money to prevent similar deaths.
“Are we going to wait for other teens like Mathis to die every day?” he said on Radio-Canada’s Tout un Matin. “It’s too late for my son, but maybe we can save others.”