EXCLUSIVE: Ukrainian seller of chemical used in suicide kits ‘regularly’ selling to Canada

Parfett ordered a package of the meat preservative from a salesperson the BBC identified as Leonid Zakutenko in 2023. (David Parfett)

This is part two of a multi-story series. Read part one here

Warning: Graphic content.

TORONTO – A Ukrainian seller of a toxic chemical used in suicide kits who was exposed in a British investigative report years ago appears to still be in business, claiming he’s “regularly” selling to Canada, a W5 investigation has found.

The man, identified by the BBC in 2024 as Leonid Zakutenko, was using the same website and even the same phone number, years after police in both the United Kingdom and Ukraine were alerted to the trade.

“I still can’t quite believe we are still talking about how we stop this guy. It’s literally cost lives,” said David Parfett, a British citizen who got involved in the search for sellers after his 22-year-old son ordered and ingested the substance, a legal meat preservative often referred to as “SN” that is lethal in high concentrations.

Parfett’s son Tom died in 2021 after finding out about the product on a pro-suicide online forum, and ordering the product from a Canadian seller, Kenneth Law.

After Parfett raised the alarm in British media, Law was arrested east of Toronto in 2023. He’s now expected to plead guilty to 14 counts of aiding and abetting suicide, connected to deaths in Ontario.

Among the Ontario deaths are 21-year-old Stephen Mitchell Junior, 19-year-old Ashtyn Prosser-Blake and 18-year-old Jeshennia Bedoya Lopez. A tally by W5 connected Law’s products to 150 deaths around the world.

Data shows deaths from chemical continue

W5 examined statistics from coroners and medical examiners across Canada to look at the patterns of deaths from SN. The numbers rose from just 3 in 2018 to more than 30 after the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020 and dropped sharply after his arrest.

But despite the drop, the data shows the deaths of 28 Canadians in 2024 and 2025 were linked to SN, suggesting that other sellers are still active.

“I think it’s fair to say that Kenneth Law was probably the most active. Certainly online, he was promoting his poison … what was certain to me was that it wasn’t only Kenneth Law who was selling this poison,” Parfett said.

Parfett ordered a package from another seller, which arrived about 10 days later, and was accompanied by a welfare check from British police.

He handed his findings to the BBC and work began on tracing it, said former BBC video journalist Tony Smith.

“It’s still quite surprising when this white powder turns up that you can use to take your own life, about ten days after you order it,” Smith said.

Seller traced to Ukraine

The BBC’s work in tracing the finances connected them to a man named Leonid Zakutenko. In 2024, a team travelled to Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, to confront him.

Zakutenko denied selling the product, saying through a translator in the video report, “That’s a lie.” Smith said the BBC gave the results of the investigation to police in the U.K. and in Ukraine.

“They got a court order. We handed a whole sheaf of evidence and documents over to the U.K. police, the Met Police in London. And the frustrating thing is, nothing’s happened,” Smith said.

‘We can and do ship regularly to Canada’

When W5 looked at the same website two years later, it advertised the same chemical for sale, for order from the same phone number.

We messaged that number, using the name of a pro-suicide forum, and asked, “We are wondering if you ship the preservative to Canada?”

The response: “Yes, we can and do ship regularly to Canada.”

When asked directly about the business in a brief exchange, the seller denied that he sold the products for suicide, calling it a “minor fantasy” in automatically translated text.

“If you’re a reporter from Canada, you know absolutely nothing about cooking. My counter-question: are you as far removed from cooking as a guinea pig is from the sea?” the message read.

“If we follow your principles, any salesperson could be prosecuted for selling a suit, because a potential buyer could hang himself with a tie,” he said.

The seller insisted he only sells to people interested in cooking, and no minors, but didn’t explain how he could verify that over the internet.

Canada’s border agency intercepts packages

When it comes to the protections at Canada’s borders, the Canada Border Services Agency says it has intercepted at least 30 packages containing the chemical, starting in 2023.

The agency said in a statement that “appropriate help and resources were provided by local police, including admitting some individuals to hospital for treatment.

Ukraine’s embassy in Canada didn’t respond to questions about its efforts to follow up on the earlier investigation. That country is in the midst of trying to repel a Russian invasion.

In Canada, Peel Regional Police said they couldn’t comment on any efforts to stop other sellers of suicide kits, saying, “doing so could compromise the integrity of any potential investigative activity.”

If you or someone you know is struggling with sexual assault or trauma, the following resources are available to support people in crisis:

• Call 911 if you are in immediate danger or fear for your safety.
• The Canadian Association of Sexual Assault Centres' website has a comprehensive list of sexual assault centres in Canada that offer information, advocacy and counselling.
• The Ending Violence Association of Canada‘s website has links to helplines, support services and locations across Canada that offer sexual assault kits.
• Indian Residential School Survivors Society crisis lines: [phone] or [phone] (24/7)
• Toronto Rape Crisis Centre crisis line: [phone] (24/7)
• Canadian Human Trafficking Hotline: [phone] (24/7)
• Trans Lifeline: [phone]
• Suicide Crisis Helpline: call or text 988 (24/7)
• Sexual Misconduct Support and Resource Centre for current and former Canadian Armed Forces members: [phone]
• Read about your rights as a victim on the Canadian Resource Centre for Victims of Crime website.