A man from the Toronto region has been detained and accused by Canadian authorities of being connected to suicide fatalities that have occurred in the US, the UK, and Canada.
There are two accusations of advising and helping suicide against Kenneth Law, 57.
Peel Regional Police suspect that he may have shipped parcels containing a deadly chemical to customers in more than 40 different nations.
His arrest follows a recent Times investigation that connected him to at least four UK deaths.
After an adult in the Toronto area died suddenly a month ago, police said on Tuesday that they started looking into the case.
According to Mark Andrews, the Peel police’s deputy chief of community policing, the suspect is thought to have consumed a deadly chemical that Mr Law sold to them.
Police said that throughout the inquiry they learned of a second local death that was reportedly connected to Mr. Law, who is accused of running numerous sodium nitrite-supplying businesses. This chemical, which is frequently used as a food additive, can be fatal if consumed in high enough doses.
In order to evaluate whether more charges may be brought, according to Deputy Chief Andrews, his police department is currently collaborating with other forces domestically and abroad. People can contact a tip line if they have any information, which has been set up.
We think there may be further victims, he added.
Police are aware of 1,200 parcels sold by Mr. Law that were sent to more than 40 nations, but they do not know how many of those items may have contained the material, he continued.
According to a Times of London article last week, Mr. Law was responsible for up to seven fatalities, including those of four British adults and a 17-year-old American lad.
Neha Raju, age 23, one of them, passed away in the Surrey region in April. Ms. Raju died after consuming a drug that she had obtained online, according to the results of a coroner’s inquiry into her death.
The chemical is “freely available to be purchased from the internet in lethal quantities for delivery within the UK,” according to the inquest, and “vulnerable people are not provided with any protection prior to making such purchases.”
Canadian physicians have asked for more stringent sodium nitrate control.
Mr. Law defended his activities and claimed that he sold a lawful product in an interview with the Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail last week.
“What does the individual do with it? He told the publication, “I have no power.
Mr. Law is currently detained pending a bail hearing. The date of his initial court appearance is Wednesday.
According to Canada’s criminal code, providing suicide advice or assistance can result in a 14-year prison term.
