The British crime agency, the NCA, announced on Friday August 25 that it was investigating the deaths in the United Kingdom of 88 people who had purchased a substance that can aid suicide on Canadian websites. “The NCA has decided to investigate potential criminal offenses in the UK. This operation is ongoing,” the agency said.
The NCA received reports in April that several people in the UK had purchased the chemical compound from these sites, UK media reports. In total, investigators identified 232 buyers over a two-year period through April. The NCA announced that 88 of them had died.
“At this time, there is no confirmed link between the (substances) purchased from the sites and the cause of death” of these individuals, however, the agency said.
The announcement comes after the May 2 arrest in Canada of a 57-year-old man, Kenneth Law, charged with “advising or assisting in the suicide” of two people, according to local authorities. The investigation began in late March following the suspicious death of an adult after consuming a substance commonly used as a food additive and commonly found in processed meats, police in the Peel, Toronto area, said.
Kenneth Law is accused of using several online sites to “distribute and market” this substance targeting “people at risk of self-harm”. “Intentional consumption of certain amounts of this substance can reduce oxygen levels, impede breathing and lead to death,” police said in a statement.
Canadian authorities believe he sent at least 1,200 packages to more than 40 countries, with it unknown how many contained the toxic substance. Kenneth Law briefly appeared in Brompton Court on Friday and is due back on September 8, according to local media. He remains in detention. Several investigations are also being carried out in the United States, Italy, Australia and New Zealand, according to British media.