The National Crime Agency is investigating the deaths of 88 people in the UK who bought substances from Canadian websites targeted at suicidal individuals.
The move comes months after Canadian police arrested Kenneth Law, who is said to have run the sites, and charged him with two counts of counselling and aiding suicide in the country.
With the investigation now expanded to the UK, here is everything we know about Law and the case so far.
Who is Kenneth Law?
The 57-year-old was a chef at the five-star Fairmont Royal Hotel in Toronto in 2020.
On his personal website, Law said he received his engineering degree from the University of Toronto in 1989 and then pursued an MBA at York University seven years later.
He was accredited in 1992, according to Professional Engineers Ontario.
In 2012, he entered into a fee remission programme at the professional association, according to The Globe and Mail in Canada.
He filed for bankruptcy in April 2020, with documents seen by The Times showing he had debts of around £78,000.
In the documents, Law says that he had only £2,161 of assets to his name, including a 20-year-old Lincoln Town Car, tools and furniture.
This was only four months after he allegedly registered some of the websites he is accused of using to post poison packages to suicidal people for a fee.
He was renting a basement flat in an upmarket detached building in Mississauga, a city nearly 25 miles from Toronto, at the time of his arrest.
Why was Law arrested?
Law was detained and charged on two counts of counselling and aiding suicide in the deaths of two Canadians.
Officers believe he “distributed and marketed (a) substance online to target individuals at risk of self-harm”.
The investigation has since been expanded and now the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) has revealed it has identified 272 people in the UK who bought items from the Canadian websites in the two years up to April 2023.
Of those, 88 died.
An NCA spokesperson cautioned that “at this early stage” it could not be confirmed the website purchases caused any of the deaths – but said each case was now being investigated.
Law has denied reports in May that he was willingly selling products to help people die by suicide.
The chemical he allegedly sold can be used for other purposes and not only suicide.
However, his mail-order company was taken offline following an investigation into his operations by The Times.
Assisting suicide is illegal in the UK and Canada and is punishable by up to 14 years in prison in both countries.
Law is next due to appear in court in Ontario on Friday, according to local media.
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What is Law accused of selling?
Sky News is choosing not to reveal the name of the chemical that Law was allegedly selling.
In an interview with The Globe and Mail in April 2023, he did not deny selling the substance but suggested he was selling it for to be used for other purposes and not suicide.
He said: “The issue was because of the pandemic: I need a source of income – I hope you can understand that – I need to feed myself.”
Peel Regional Police in Ontario said the chemical can “reduce oxygen levels, impair breathing and can result in death” if consumed in sufficient amounts.
Reports say Law is suspected of sending 1,200 packages to addresses in 40 countries, with police investigations also under way in the US, Italy, Australia and New Zealand.
What websites did Law allegedly run?
Law is accused of using a series of five websites to market and sell the substance – with one allegedly selling the chemical for $59 (£47) for a 50g package.
The sites were all taken down in May.
The Times found UK coroners and police contacted Law about the chemical being used for suicide, but he allegedly carried on selling it.
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What do we know about the deaths under investigation?
British police twice last year reached out to Law regarding the suicides of Neha Raju and Tom Parfett, both near London, but investigators declined to pursue charges at the time.
Parfett, 22, died in Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey, in October 2021 after taking the chemical, which is the same as the one allegedly sold by Law.
Neha Raju died after eating the same substance in April 2022.
An investigation by The Times in May linked him to the deaths of two other British people.
The investigation also linked him to the death of a 17-year-old boy in the US.
Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email [email protected] in the UK.
