Local man pleads not guilty to trafficking dangerous opioids
By Peggy Revell on October 27, 2017.
prevell@medicinehatnews.com @MHNprevell Not-guilty pleas were entered Thursday by a Medicine Hat man accused of trafficking carfentanil, fentanyl, heroin and methamphetamine. Levi Aebig appeared before the Medicine Hat court with his defence counsel entering the pleas, opting for a trial by a Court of Queen’s Bench judge. The 32-year-old was one of several people arrested in June during drug-trafficking investigations by police. He originally faced four counts of trafficking heroin, four counts of trafficking methamphetamine, possessing the proceeds of crime and weapons charges — and his defence counsel had been in discussion with the Crown for early resolution. This has changed due to new charges laid once some of the seized substances were analyzed and came back as being carfentanil and fentanyl. Fentanyl has made headlines in recent years, due to its link to rising rates of overdoses. The opioid is considered 100 times more potent than morphine, and while it comes often in pill form, it’s often found laced into other street drugs. Carfentanil is 100 times more potent than fentanyl and 10,000 times more potent than morphine. It was originally developed as a sedative for very large animals. One or two small grains of the substance can be fatal in humans. The next court appearance will be on Nov. 7 to fixate the trial date. Aebig remains in custody, having been denied bail at a hearing in July. 9
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