MONTREAL — Montreal police have arrested two people on drug charges following an investigation into the death of a 15-year-old boy from a synthetic opioid overdose last December, a case that made headlines across Quebec.
Laxshan Mylvaganam, 24, and a 17-year-old whose identity is protected have been charged with drug trafficking and possession for the purpose of trafficking. Police made the arrests Tuesday, and also seized nearly a thousand counterfeit pills containing dangerous synthetic opioids during searches of three homes and a vehicle.
Cmdr. Yannick Desmarais said the two accused were linked to an online store selling drugs, including pills, which used social media to attract clients. He said the drugs for sale included pills containing nitazene, a synthetic opioid stronger than fentanyl.
"These are pills that cause us to have cases of overdose on the ground every day," Desmarais said Wednesday in a phone interview.
In December 2023, Mathis Boivin, a 15-year-old from Montreal, consumed a pill containing nitazene that he had bought from the online store tied to the two accused. He died in his home while his parents thought he was sleeping.
His father, Christian Boivin, spoke out about his son to raise awareness about the opioid crisis, and his death received widespread media coverage.
At the Montreal courthouse on Wednesday, after Mylvaganam was arraigned, Boivin said he was pleased with the investigation. “I feel like there's been some justice," he said. "Sometimes we have the impression that the police aren’t working, but they’re working very hard."
The 17-year-old accused appeared Wednesday in youth court.
Despite the investigation being linked to the case of Mathis Boivin, the two people arrested have not been charged in his death. Desmarais said that to lay additional charges, police would have to establish who actually sold the pills to Mathis that caused his overdose. "The investigation is ongoing," he said. "Anything is possible."
Desmarais said it can take time to investigate cases of online drug trafficking. "There are many investigative techniques that were deployed in this case," he said. "Sometimes there are certain delays before obtaining responses from external partners."
Boivin said he wants parents to take the dangers of opioids seriously and to talk to their kids, who too often feel "invincible." He said if he'd had all the information a year ago that he has today, he would have had a "completely different" dialogue with Mathis. He would have taught his son the symptoms of an overdose, he said, and would have told him not to be afraid to tell his parents or to call 911 if he was feeling unwell.
“For the parents, inform your child about the risks," he said. "Tell them Mathis’s story, because they have to know that it could happen to everyone."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2024.
Maura Forrest, The Canadian Press
