Suspected traffickers arrested after two people die of overdoses in Chapleau

An Ontario Provincial Police crest is displayed on the arm of an officer during a press conference in Vaughan, Ont., on Thursday, June 20, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Lahodynskyj

Sudbury — Two people in Chapleau have been arrested in connection with two fatal opioid overdoses in the community in the last week.

The first death took place Jan. 30. Superior East Ontario Provincial Police were called to a residence at 6:35 a.m. and found a 35-year-old person who was unresponsive and later pronounced dead.

On Feb. 2 at 5:15 p.m., police performed a well-being check on a 55-year-old person, and found them dead inside their home.

"Both deaths are suspected to be due to opiate overdoses," police said in a news release Friday.

OPP and the Nishnawbe Aski Police Service obtained search warrants and, on Feb. 4 at 8:40 a.m., raided two residences in Brunswick House First Nation near Chapleau.

"A search of both residences yielded quantities of suspected opiates, amphetamines and other evidence of drug trafficking," police said.

A 29-year-old and a 38-year-old, both from Brunswick House First Nation, are charged with trafficking and drug possession.

Both accused have been released and are scheduled to appear before the Ontario Court of Justice on April 19 in Chapleau.

"The Sault Ste. Marie OPP Crime Unit is continuing this investigation under the direction of the OPP's Criminal Investigation Branch," the release said.