New street drug popping up in Cape Breton

The Cape Breton Regional Police Service is alerting the public to the presence of a new dangerous street drug in the area.

Hydromorphone,a potent, opiate-based narcotic prescribed for pain, is becoming the illicit drug of choice in the community, Chief Myles Burke said Friday.

Police know of a couple of situations where a person has died because of using the powerful drug, Burke said, and they want to warn people against using it.

"Whether it was the primary cause, secondary cause (of death), thats something we can find out through the medical examiners office," he said.

"But we certainly know hydromorphone pills have been a part of investigations, and probably is the primary cause in at least one death in our region."

As part of a recent six-month undercover operation, police seized 255 hydromorphone pills and have laid 11 charges of trafficking and one charge for possession for the purpose of trafficking, Burke said.

Police are asking the public to report any suspected cases of drug abuse.

Over the past few years, the Sydney area has had abuse problems involving OxyContin, known as hillbilly heroin on the street.

In November, 2008, Cape Breton police seized 25,000 tablets of OxyContin, the largest drug bust of its kind in Atlantic Canada.