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Canadian ‘poison merchant’ linked to the deaths of 88 people in the UK | UK News


Authorities in Ontario charged Kenneth Law, who is accused of running a website targeted at suicidal individuals, with two counts of counselling and aiding suicide earlier in May (Picture: PA/Getty)

A Canadian man accused of selling poison online has been linked to almost 90 deaths in the UK. 

Authorities in Ontario charged Kenneth Law, 57, on two counts of counselling and aiding suicide, believing he had ‘distributed and marketed [a] substance online to target individuals at risk of self-harm.’

Police reportedly accuse Law of distributing more than 1,200 packages of dangerous substances to vulnerable individuals in at least 40 countries around the world. 

The investigation into Law is now reported to have expanded, with the UK National Crime Agency revealing it has identified more than 272 people who bought toxic items from Canadian websites thought to be linked with Law in the two years prior to his arrest. 

Of that number, 88 people are understood to have died.

A father of one of Law’s alleged victims recently told BBC Radio 4 his son was ‘encouraged by members of a certain online community’ on how to take his own life, specifically by ‘taking poison’.

He said: ‘There were a number of people who openly sold that poison, including as we know now, Kenneth Law, who has [allegedly] been responsible for 88 deaths in the UK.

‘We will find out more about Kenneth Law’s [alleged] impact across the world. The picture is still emerging and the UK authorities, in my understanding, are the first people to actually put a number on that.’

Undated handout photo issued by Peel Regional Police of Kenneth Law, 57, of Mississauga. An investigation has been launched into the deaths of 88 people in the UK who bought products from Canada-based websites that were selling substances to assist with suicide. Issue date: Friday August 25, 2023. PA Photo. It comes after Canadian Kenneth Law, 57, was arrested in Ontario and charged with two counts of counselling and aiding suicide after allegedly selling a lethal substance to people across the world. It has been reported that Law is accused of sending 1,200 packages to 40 countries and is now also being investigated by police in the United States, Italy, Australia and New Zealand. The National Crime Agency (NCA) received information in April suggesting that a number of people in the UK had purchased products from Canada-based websites that were selling substances to assist with suicide, which it passed on to police forces. See PA story POLICE Poision . Photo credit should read: Peel Regional Police/PA Wire NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used in for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder.

Kenneth Law will next appear in court in Ontario later today (Picture: PA)

He went on: ‘I think it’s also important to focus [on the fact that] we have at least been able to help some people. We know that something along the lines of 270 packages were sent to the UK, from which there were 88 deaths. ‘

‘But of course that means, and I hope, that we might have been able to stop some people, that there have been some people who’ve been able to get the help, to get the counselling they need to get them through their vulnerable time.’

The BBC presenter added: ‘We should say, the National Crime Agency, though they’re investigating these 88 deaths, they can’t confirm a direct link between the chemical and the cause of death.’

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The poison allegedly sold by Law has been described as a white crystalline powder sometime used in food processing (Picture: Getty Images)

Police in Ontario have not identified the substance sold online, but said it as a white, crystalline substance, sometimes used in food processing, which can ‘reduce oxygen levels, impair breathing and can result in death.’

Related investigations are also underway in the US, Italy, Australia and New Zealand.

NCA deputy director, Craig Turner, said: ‘Our deepest sympathies are with the loved ones of those who have died. They are being supported by specially trained officers from police forces.

‘In consultation with the Crown Prosecution Service, the NCA has taken the decision to conduct an investigation into potential criminal offences committed in the UK. This operation is underway.’

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

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