Two men will survive after overdosing on intravenous drugs.
The pair were found overnight in the hallway that links the Bell Centre to Lucien L'Allier metro station, each with a needle in his thigh.
SPVM spokesperson Manuel Couture said one man was revived at the scene, and he told officers that they had bought heroin from a drug dealer.
“When the first police officer arrived, he located two men—the first one 32 years old, and the second one 40 years old. They were lying on the ground, and they had a syringe on their leg. The first police officer tried to reanimate the two persons, and they had to wait for Urgences Santé. When Urgences Santé arrived, they gave them naloxone,” said Couture.
While one man was having problems breathing, the second man's heart had stopped. Both were taken to hospital for further treatment.
"They were both given naloxone to counteract the drugs they had taken," said Francois Labelle of Urgences Santé.
Officers seized the drugs that had not been used as the substance will be tested to determine exactly what it contains.
Fentanyl concerns
Public health officials said that at least 12 people had died in Montreal in the past month after using fentanyl.
Now, each drug overdose is analyzed and tracked.
"The syringe will be seized and we're going to look at what was inside those syringes. Was it heroin? Was it heroin and fentanyl?" said Couture.
On Wednesday Public Health Minister Lucie Charlebois announced pharmacies would soon be distributing kits to help friends and family of drug users cope with overdoses.
The packages of naloxone, a medication that counteracts the effect of opioids like fentanyl and heroin, would be available free of charge.
Five arrested
Meanwhile Montreal police said they arrested five people Wednesday in connection with two deadly overdoses last month.
The bodies of two men were found on Aug. 25 in a car parked at a gas station at De Lorimier Blvd. and Maisonneuve Blvd. Laboratory tests confirmed the presence of fentanyl in the vehicle.
Montreal police Commander Gaétan Vaillancourt said police were able to find the phone numbers of the drug suppliers in the victims' cell phones.
This week police raided four vehicles and four homes in Laval and in Montreal. They arrested two women and three men who are facing drug trafficking charges.
Police seized $19,000 in cash, along with about 500 grams of heroin, marijuana, meth, and other drugs.
With files from The Canadian Press
