The British National Crime Agency (NCA) has launched an investigation into the deaths of 88 people in the United Kingdom who bought a substance that helped them end their lives on Canadian websites, and has identified 232 buyers of these products over a two-year period. years, reports AFP.

“The NCA has decided to investigate possible criminal offenses committed in the UK. This operation is ongoing,” the agency reported on Friday.

In April, the NCA received information that several people in the United Kingdom bought this chemical compound on these sites, writes the British press.

In total, during the two-year period until April, investigators identified 232 buyers.

The NCA announced that 88 of those people had died.

“There is currently no confirmed link between (substances) bought on the websites and the cause of death” of these people, the agency said.

Suicide tips or help”

The announcement followed the May 2 arrest in Canada of 57-year-old Kenneth Lowe, accused of “advising or assisting in the suicide” of two people, according to local authorities.

The investigation began in late March after the suspicious death of an adult after consuming a substance commonly used as a food additive often found in processed meats, police in Peel, in the Toronto region, said.

Kenneth Lowe was accused of using several websites to “distribute and sell” a substance aimed at “persons at risk of self-harm”.

“Intentionally consuming a certain amount of this substance can reduce oxygen levels, obstruct breathing and can lead to death,” police warned in a statement.

Canadian authorities estimate he sent at least 1,200 packages to more than 40 countries, but they don’t know how many contained the toxic substance.

Kenneth Law appeared on Friday at a brief hearing in court in Brompton, where he will return on September 8, local press reports.

He is currently being held in custody.

Other investigations are being conducted in the USA, Italy, Australia and New Zealand, writes the British press. (News.ro)