A Canadian chef accused of selling “suicide kits” to vulnerable people online has reportedly been linked to several Australians who took their own lives.
Kenneth Law, 57, is accused of selling poisonous substances to at-risk people online over a two-year period, and is now at the centre of an international multi-agency probe.
Investigators from Australia, Britain, the U.S., Italy, New Zealand, and Canada have joined forces to uncover his alleged crimes, the Sydney Morning Herald (SMH) reported.
The Australian Federal Police, Australian Border Force (ABF), and state police know of at least 10 packages containing the lethal substance having been sent to Australians, resulting in deaths, federal government security sources told the SMH.
Law was arrested and charged with two counts of counselling or aiding suicide after two deaths in the Regional Municipality of Peel in Ontario, in central Canada, on May 2.
Local police say their investigation has uncovered evidence of Law sending 1,200 packages to 40 different countries.
The Ontario chef has been linked with up to 20 people’s deaths internationally, including 13 UK residents, and one U.S. teenager.
Several police forces in Canada have since announced they will review deaths in their area, the Toronto Sun reports.
The chef’s prosecution came after he told a British reporter from The Times, who posed as a buyer, that “many, many, many, many” of his customers were dead.
The substance, sodium nitrite, is commonly used in commercial food preparation and can be lethal when ingested.
It is not prohibited for import under customs regulations, but can be stopped by border force officials under separate regulations if they suspect it will be used for suicide.
A spokesperson for the ABF said the force could not comment on individual cases, but it was aware of attempts to import packages with goods relating to suicide into Australia.
“The ABF works with domestic and international law enforcement partners to prevent harmful materials reaching Australia,” the ABF spokesperson said.
An AFP spokeswoman declined to comment when contacted by AAP.
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