Sask. police charge man with importing fentanyl derivatives after months-long investigation

A 27-year-old man appeared in Saskatoon provincial court on Wednesday following a months-long investigation into the possible illegal importation offentanyl derivatives into Saskatchewan.

The court appearance came after RCMP executed a search warrant on Tuesday at a rural residence near Warman, about 20 kilometres north of Saskatoon, where nearly five grams of what's believed to befentanyl derivatives were seized, along with about 26 grams of marijuana.

The suspect was arrested without incident, according to police.

He has been charged with two counts of possession of a controlled substance and one count of unlawfully importing fentanyl derivatives into Canada in connection with a Canada Border Services Agencyinvestigation that began in the summer.

His next court appearance is scheduled for Nov. 15 in Saskatoon.

Fentanyl derivatives are synthetic drugs that are derived from fentanyl. Thesubstances seized in this investigation have been sent to Health Canada labs for testing.