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Five alleged fentanyl traffickers have been arrested in Maple Ridge.

The arrests came after a four-month long investigation led by Ridge Meadows RCMP’s Street Enforcement Unit (SEU).

Fentanyl is a highly potent and addictive synthetic opioid, estimated to be up to 100 times more potent than morphine.

It has been at the centre of the public health emergency caused by the overdose death crisis in the province. There were 914 overdose deaths in B.C. in 2016. The Coroners Office says illicit fentanyl–involved deaths appear to drive the increase in the number of illicit drug overdose deaths since 2012 as the number of overdose deaths not involving fentanyl has remained relatively stable since 2011.

READ MORE: 914 overdose deaths in B.C. in 2016: 90% occurred inside

Thirty-four-year-old Bobbi Passmore, 36-year-old Dylan Jay Friesen, 36-year-old Joseph Grant Bardonnex, 20-year-old Zoe Diana Elizabeth Dore and 22-year-old Cameron Zachary Cater have all been charged with trafficking a controlled substance.

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All arrested are from the Maple Ridge area.

The matter is now before the courts and police cannot make any further comment.

“We can’t have this on our streets,” said Sgt. Mitch Fox, who is in charge of SEU, adding the arrests send a clear message the trafficking won’t be tolerated.

For the ongoing coverage of the fentanyl crisis, go here.