Cops Mistook Face Powder for Fentanyl, Ruined Guy's Life

Police said they turned up 15 grams of fentanyl at an Ottawa residence in April, claiming it had a street value of over $7,000. But it turns out that was not the case at all. Lab results from the April 25 bust, the Ottawa Citizen reports, confirmed that the white powder taken during the raid was not fentanyl—it wasn't even a drug.

Royston Christie, 61, the man whose residence police raided on April 25, lost his home as a result of the mistaken drug bust. He'd been living in a public housing unit. He told the Ottawa Citizen that the "fentanyl" police seized was actually facial powder a girlfriend of his had picked up from a food bank. During the raid, cops found the powder in Christie's linen closet.

"I was presumed guilty," Christie said. He was taken to jail; police named him and the street he lived on publicly, accusing him of being a fentanyl dealer.

Christie was charged with possession for the purpose of trafficking fentanyl and drug possession. He was also charged with possession of proceeds of crime related to $135 police had seized from him—a low amount of money given how profitable fentanyl is.

After being released from on bail, Christie was evicted due to the bust that had gone down in his unit.

The drug squad had a warrant to conduct a raid on Christie's residence following a complaint and supposed video surveillance evidence. A person had overdosed at his home days earlier but was revived by paramedics. Christie said he'd been sheltering people using drugs after often seeing them using in the staircases of the building he lived in. He allowed them to take showers and hang out in his unit.

Christie is currently staying with a friend. With only 72 hours to clear the housing unit following his eviction notice, he lost about three-quarters of his belongings.

Steven Bell, deputy chief of the Ottawa Police Service, tweeted praise out the day after the bust, calling it "excellent work" by the drug unit.

Ottawa police said they couldn't comment on the case when contacted by VICE, but told the Ottawa Citizen that policy is to charge first, analyze substances later if they think they've seized drugs.

Christie's charges have been dropped.

"I want my apartment back," he said. "I lost everything."

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