Eighty-eight people in the UK died after buying a poisonous substance from a seller in Canada, the National Crime Agency (NCA) has said.

The NCA says it cannot confirm the chemical was the direct cause of the deaths in the UK but is investigating potential criminal offences.

British police have been making welfare visits to hundreds of addresses to trace buyers across the country.

Kenneth Law was arrested in May and is accused of assisting suicide in Canada.

Mr Law, 57, is thought to have run a number of websites selling equipment to assist suicide.

That also included a poisonous chemical which he sent to customers in more than 40 countries.

 

Peel Regional Police said they began investigating the case in April following the sudden death of an adult in the Toronto area.

Since Mr Law's arrest, police forces across the UK have been making checks on everyone who ordered the substance.

The NCA, which was coordinating the checks, said that 232 people in the UK had been identified as buying from Mr Law over a two-year period.

The agency says 88 of them later died but it could not confirm a direct link with the death.

NCA deputy director Craig Turner said: "Our deepest sympathies are with the loved ones of those who have died. They are being supported by specially trained officers from police forces.

"In consultation with the Crown Prosecution Service, the NCA has taken the decision to conduct an investigation into potential criminal offences committed in the UK. This operation is under way."

 

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This is a very tricky subject.

A lot of people demand the right to end their own lives rather than wait for fatal illnesses to kill them slowly and painfully.

Because of archaic laws, those unfortunates have to resort to illegal means to achieve that dying wish.

The other side of this coin is that some people could be buying these drugs to kill someone else.

How can anyone tell?

Having watched my son die very slowly from cancer over a two year period, I know where I stand.

3 minutes ago, Tropicalevo said:

A lot of people demand the right to end their own lives rather than wait for fatal illnesses to kill them slowly and painfully.

Medically assisted dying (MAID) is legal in Canada.