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All of the men appeared in court Monday morning. Haye said none of them originated from Saskatchewan.

After the third arrest, police issued a public advisory on Sunday night warning people that if they had purchased cocaine from a drug dealer going by the name of “Lil Joe,” or “Joe Bro,” or who was using the phone number 306-881-7300, they could be in possession of a drug that could kill them.

At a news conference on Monday, Haye said the decision to send out the detailed advisory was “unprecedented,” but necessary.

“In my experience, we’ve never done that at the Saskatoon Police Service,” he said. “The decision to release this information was made in consultation with both the provincial and federal Crowns, so they were aware we were going to do it. We believe that the public safety interests are the greater need here and that’s why we released that information.”

Haye would not comment specifically on whether any of the three men arrested was “Lil Joe” or “Joe Bro,” but said police believe they have the right people in custody, in part because calls about fentanyl overdoses stopped after the men were arrested.

Photo by Michelle Berg / Saskatoon StarPhoenix

Police are in possession of the cellphone with the phone number 306-881-7300.

“Based on my experience, drug traffickers often will share street names as well … Whether one of them is using that name or not, I’m not sure right now,” Haye told reporters.

“There’s always the possibility that there’s more people out there. I believe none of the people arrested are from the Saskatoon area so they may have accomplices somewhere else, but, I mean, that’s speculation.”