“While Mr. Olvedi may not have known that the package contained fentanyl when he agreed to have it delivered to his home, I found that he was wilfully blind to the fact that it contained a controlled substance,” she said in her ruling. “He was also wilfully blind to the fact that it would be originating from outside Canada. I convicted him based on his wilful blindness.”

Dr. Karen Woodall, a forensic toxicologist, and a Peel police drug officer said they had never worked on a case in which the fentanyl was 100 per cent pure and not diluted with other agents.

The judge said while there have been several problematic and deadly drugs available in the GTA over the past several years, “sadly, there is now a much more potent and even more dangerous addictive drug widely available on the streets (fentanyl).”

The amount imported by Olvedi would have an estimated street value of between roughly $15 million and nearly $20 million, court heard.

A number of courts have found that, every day in cities across Canada, fentanyl use is resulting in overdoses and fatalities, court heard.

The issue is also prevalent in Peel Region.

“It is ravaging communities and claiming lives,” the judge said.

Fentanyl is prescribed in medical settings to treat severe pain. It is 100 times stronger than morphine, the judge said. It is so potent that it is generally only prescribed to patients who have developed a tolerance to other opioids and whose pain cannot be treated effectively with other drugs.

Petersen said she had to send a strong message with the jail sentence.

“Mr. Olvedi’s offences are extremely serious. He was not only in possession of a large quantity of pure fentanyl citrate for the purpose of trafficking, he also imported it into Canada from overseas,” she said. “Importing an opioid drug — especially one with the lethal potency of fentanyl — is one of the most serious offences in our criminal law.”