Canada ‘poison seller’ linked to 88 deaths in the UK

Eighty-eight people in the UK died after buying a poisonous substance from a seller in Canada, who is accused of helping them take their own lives.

Kenneth Law, who was arrested in Canada in May, is thought to have run a number of websites selling a poisonous chemical to assist suicide.

The 57-year-old is suspected of sending 1,200 packages to addresses in 40 countries, with police investigations also under way in the US, Italy, Australia and New Zealand, said Sky News.

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In total, 232 individuals in the UK were identified as having purchased products from the websites and 88 of those people have died. An investigation has been launched into those deaths but the National Crime Agency said that “at this early stage there are no confirmed links between the items purchased from the websites and cause of death in any of these cases”.

Peel Regional Police in Ontario said the chemical sold online was “a white, crystalline substance” that can “reduce oxygen levels, impair breathing and can result in death” if consumed in sufficient amounts. Law’s arrest “sent shockwaves through some of the darkest corners of the internet”, said CTV News.

The father of Tom Parfett, from Maidenhead, who was 22 when he ended his own life in 2021 after buying the chemical from Law, told the BBC: “It’s important for families to understand what has happened and why policing worldwide allowed this scale of deaths despite clear warning signs.”

In May, CBC reported that UK police were in the “spotlight” for not charging Law. Surrey Police “appear to have decided against pursuing an investigation into Law because his website didn’t look suspicious”, said the news site.

Law, who is in custody, is due to appear in court again later this month. Helping someone die by suicide can result in a 14-year jail sentence.