Fentanyl is an extremely dangerous drug. A Montreal trafficker realized this the hard way last year, when he and his wife ended up in hospital after overdosing on their own drugs. Arrested with a large amount of fentanyl, Philip James Wrixon was sentenced to six and a half years in prison.
“I choose to take my responsibilities by pleading guilty. I have deep regrets. Not only did I almost kill myself, but by bringing this drug into my community, I almost killed my wife and a close friend. I have to live with that for the rest of my life, ”the 36-year-old Montrealer repented when he was sentenced on November 5. He pleaded guilty last summer to possession of drugs for the purpose of trafficking.
The 85 g of fentanyl seized from the trafficker and from a warehouse last year represented the second largest seizure in Montreal since 2017. Investigators from the Montreal Police Department were alerted to three cases of overdose of fentanyl (those of Wrixon and his relatives) which occurred in a building in the borough of Lachine.
This opiate 40 times stronger than heroin is wreaking havoc across the country, especially in Western Canada. Between January and March 2021, 20 people died each day from opioid poisoning. Of those, 87% of those deaths involved fentanyl, according to the Canadian government.
A tiny amount of fentanyl, just 2 mg (0.002 g) or less, is sufficient to cause death. Traffickers often use fentanyl to “cut” other drugs, including heroin and cocaine, without the users’ knowledge. One kilogram of fentanyl has the potential to kill 500,000 people, illustrates the US federal agency responsible for the fight against drugs.
The accused considers a “new beginning”
Philip James Wrixon didn’t just own fentanyl. The independent trafficker kept in particular 4.2 L of GHB, 1714 tablets of methamphetamine (speed) and 1,686 tablets of Xanax, a drug that is very popular with young people.
Behind bars for over a year, the trafficker now regrets his choices and wishes to have a “new start” on his release from prison. “I feel the only way to redeem myself is to go to the penitentiary and follow drug abuse programs,” he told the court.
Coming to a common six-and-a-half-year-old suggestion, Crown Attorney Me Jean-Philippe Mackay explained that he took into consideration the difficult conditions of pre-trial detention of the accused in the context of COVID-19. Nevertheless, this sentence is neither “the most lenient” nor “the most severe”, estimates Me Olivier Cusson, from the defense. Judge Anne-Marie Lanctôt thus ratified the sentence.
The prosecution has also withdrawn the charges against Amanda Wright, wife of Mr. Wrixon and co-accused in this case.