Suicides abroad prompt Peel Police to investigate website that sold lethal substance

WARNING: This story contains distressing details.

A British father's quest to piece together the circumstances of his son's suicide led him to a Toronto-area man's website. 

Now after multiple deaths abroad in similar circumstances, Peel Regional Police are investigating. And Tom Parfett's father, David Parfett, is pleading for stricter access to a substance linked to an increasing number of suicides.

"I am 99 per cent certain that if my son was unable to source this drug, he'd still be here," Parfett said.

Tom was a bright, 22-year-old philosophy student who cheered for Manchester United on the soccer pitch and worked at central London's Lego Store to earn some cash, his father said.

Tom also encountered mental health struggles. He was found dead in October 2021 in a London-area hotel, with a packet of sodium nitrite nearby.

Salt compound can be lethal

The salt compound, which is commonly used to cure meats, can also be lethal when ingested in high concentrations, according to toxicology experts.

This week, the Times of London reported an Ontario man named Kenneth Law operated a website for two years that sold "poison" directly to young, at-risk individuals. The Times quoted Law as boasting about mailing his products around the world, including to "hundreds" of clients in Britain.

Reached by phone on Thursday evening, Law told CBC the allegations in the article are "false." 

He said he was in the process of hiring a lawyer and declined to speak in detail.

"This has been a very distressing experience," Law said. "I've endured some extensive changes in my life as a result."

Peel police investigating

Ontario's Peel Regional Police have not laid charges in the case, but are "aware of this issue," Const. Mandeep Khatra said in a brief email earlier in the week. "There is an ongoing investigation."

The family member of another Briton whose suicide was linked to Law's products told CBC she spoke with Canadian police on Wednesday.

The sodium nitrite packet found next to Tom Parfett's body listed the name of Law's website, according to a police statement seen by CBC News. CBC has viewed an archived version of the now-defunct site but is not naming it due to its sensitive nature. 

The site listed Law's name and a post office box in a Shoppers Drug Mart in Mississauga.

E-commerce giant Shopify and web hosting company GoDaddy both said they took down Law's site for violating their terms of service.

Substance 'freely available,' British coroner warns

The site is also named in an October 2022 British coroner's report following the suicide of Neha Raju in Surrey, England.

The coroner found Raju, 23, killed herself using a substance that is "freely available" online with "no protection" for vulnerable young people seeking to place an order.

British police told CBC in a statement they contacted the seller of the substance after Raju's death and reviewed his website. But they said they found "no evidence items on that site were being advertised or knowingly sold for the purposes of suicide."

Research published in September 2021 warned of an increasing use of toxic salts by people seeking to kill themselves in Ontario, with at least 23 such deaths recorded across 2019 and 2020.

"In an unfortunate way, this is a very lethal product," the study's co-author Dr. Tyler Hickey said in an interview. "I do know that people are continuing to die from ingesting these substances."

Some online retailers, including Amazon, have taken steps to make it harder for individuals to buy highly concentrated sodium nitrite.

Sale of substance not regulated in Canada

Health Canada does not regulate its sale. The federal agency told CBC in a statement it had become aware of increased use of toxic salts for self-harm and pointed to antidote guidance issued to hospitals in 2021.

Federal law lists counselling or aiding suicide as a crime that carries a maximum prison sentence of 14 years. Some exemptions exist, such as for medical assistance in dying.

Dr. Margaret Thompson, the medical director of the Ontario Poison Centre, said it's unfortunate some distributors "will take advantage" of people suffering from depression.

She said the substance causes blood pressure to plummet, and that an antidote can be administered if the patient is brought to a hospital quickly enough.

"The sadder part about this [is] that people feel that they have to resort to this and there's nothing that's hopeful in their lives," Thompson said.

Father investigated substance after son's death

After his son's death, David Parfett set out to understand how Tom could have obtained the substance he used to kill himself. Parfett did research online and wound up on Law's website. 

"I actually ordered the poison from Kenneth Law, but that was before I knew my son had done the same thing," David Parfett said, noting that "the autopsy confirmed" Tom took sodium nitrite.

Parfett said last year he contacted Ontario Provincial Police to report the connection to Law, but did not hear back. The OPP did not respond Thursday to CBC's request for comment.

Parfett is calling for changes to legislation in both Britain and Canada to prevent poison from falling into the hands of vulnerable people.

Any online sale of the substance "makes it highly dangerous," he said. "It makes it too easy for people, without any medical governance, to take their own life."

On Thursday, federal Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos told reporters the government is examining the issue. Duclos said he's also been in touch with his provincial counterparts to ensure "these products are managed in an appropriate manner."

He said the federal Public Health Agency and Health Canada have also been in contact with officials in other countries "where similar products are also available."

If you have a news tip or important information related to this story, contact CBC News senior reporter Thomas Daigle by email: thomas.daigle@cbc.ca.

If you or someone you know is struggling, here's where to get help:

• Talk Suicide Canada: 1-833-456-4566 (phone) | 45645 (text between 4 p.m. and midnight ET).

• Kids Help Phone: 1-800-668-6868 (phone), live chat counselling on the website.

• Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention: Find a 24-hour crisis centre.

• This guide from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health outlines how to talk about suicide with someone you're worried about.