Calgary man charged with trafficking highly potent fentanyl

A man was charged with drug trafficking this week, in connection with the seizure of more than 1,000 grams of highly potent fentanyl during a traffic stop in January.

Police pulled over a vehicle just outside of Canmore during the stop, finding 1,001 grams of powdered fentanyl, 4.5 grams of a mixture composed of fentanyl, benzodiazepine and caffeine, and 11.1 grams of a substance commonly used in the manufacturing of fentanyl.

The powdered fentanyl is believed to be highly potent, approximately 10 to 15 time more pure than what’s sold at the street level in Western Canada, according to Calgary police.

“The fentanyl seized in this investigation had the potential to cause significant harm to our community and could have resulted in countless deaths,” said Sgt. Greg Cooper with Calgary’s Guns and Gangs Unit.

“The fentanyl powder is some of the most potent that we’ve seized and had the ability to be worth $2.5 million to $4.1 million, if cutting agents were used to dilute the drug to a level consistent with what’s being sold on the street. If pressed into pill form, the value would have been even higher.”

Money and multiple cell phones were also seized from the vehicle.

In late 2018, the Calgary Guns and Gangs Unit identified a suspect who was believed to be trafficking drugs throughout Calgary. With RCMP assistance, a January traffic stop was conducted outside of Canmore in relation to the investigation.

Then, in April, police executed a search warrant on a residence located in the 0 to 100 block of Rosery Drive N.W., where they took one man into custody.

Jonathan Joseph Sunstrum, 58, of Calgary, has been charged with multiple counts of possession of a controlled substance for the purpose of trafficking and one count of possession of a precursor for use in the production of a controlled substance.

Sunstrum is scheduled to appear in court on May 10. The investigation is ongoing.