Cocaine is killing more people in Newfoundland and Labrador than fentanyl, police say [Video]

Highly potent cocaine is circulating in Newfoundland and Labrador, and police said Wednesday the drug is killing more people than fentanyl.

Cocaine seized recently by the RCMP was found to have “purity levels that we have never seen before,” reaching 90 per cent or higher, Insp. David Emberley told a news conference in St. John’s.

“This is alarming and highly toxic for human consumption,” he said.

Figures supplied to reporters Wednesday by the province’s chief medical examiner’s office show steep climbs in cocaine and fentanyl toxicity deaths from 2022 to 2024, compared with the previous four years.

However, the cocaine deaths outpace those from fentanyl: last year, cocaine killed 43 people in the province, compared with 20 who died from fentanyl. Eight people died from a combination of both substances.

The majority of the deaths were accidental, and those most affected were men and people in their 30s, the data …