A man is facing charges after police in Nova Scotia’s Pictou County say they seized “unusual fentanyl products” they believe were purchased on the “dark web.” The RCMP says officers learned fentanyl purchased on the dark web was being transported into Pictou County. Their investigation led them to intercept several packages in the area this month. The seized packages contained more than 50 grams of presumptive fentanyl, according to police. “When officers conducted preliminary field tests on the substances in the packages, the results were positive for fentanyl despite the substances having appearances inconsistent with other fentanyl products police have seen recently,” said the RCMP in a news release Friday. Police say the substances had uncommon colours, textures and consistencies. One substance was black with a clay-like consistency and a sweet smell, while another was pink and both in chunks and powdered; the chunks had a hard texture. A third substance was light brown and chalk-like. “The substances will undergo further testing by Health Canada to confirm the presumptive results,” said the RCMP. Police arrested 35-year-old Jake Bruce Murphy of Three Brooks, N.S., on Tuesday. He’s facing two counts of possession for the purpose of trafficking (fentanyl) and failure to comply with a probation order. Murphy appeared in Pictou provincial court on Wednesday. He remains in custody pending future court appearances. According to the Government of Canada, the dark web is a part of the Internet consisting of hidden sites that are not indexed, so they are not visible by conventional search engines. “Instead, the dark web can only be accessed through specific browsers which provide increased privacy and anonymity while browsing the Internet,” said the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security. While using the dark web is legal, the centre notes it can also provide anonymity to users looking to host or spread content with malicious intent, and cyber threat actors may use the dark web to anonymously buy and sell illegal market goods and services. For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
