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Toronto police make more Izms and PurePillz ‘legal drug’ busts
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Toronto police arrested four people in connection with a pair of companies that purport to sell “legal” drugs—Izms and PurePillz—and charged them with offences under the criminal code and controlled drug and substances act.
Between March 2 and 4 the drug squad executed 14 search warrants related to an investigation surrounding Izms and PurePillz.
Peter Wookey, 57, Anita Kolevski, 26, of Pickering, James Breckenridge, 30, of Toronto and Hou Feng Wang, 50, of Ancaster, were charged.
The Izms and PurePillz sell products online and though some convenience stores. The Izms sells “a legal alternative to weed” that is made of smokeable herbs mixed with synthetic cannabinoids that get the user high. PurePillz sells a variety of pills.
Police allege they seized “several thousand packages of illegal drugs” worth more than $300,000.
Toronto police spokesman Const. Victor Kwong said Health Canada considers the products illegal under the Controlled Drug and Substances Act because of their similarities to drugs that are listed under the act.
“It’s advertised as a safe alternative and we’re warning the public that it should not be considered safe,” said Kwong.
Police said the product “Bliss Hardcore formula R18” is considered a schedule I drug and contains methylone, which is known as the ingredient in some variations of the drugs known as “bath salts.”
Police identified two PurePillz products, “Freq” and “Rush,” as schedule III drugs, containing benzylpiperazine (BZP) and trifluoromethylphenylpiperazine (TFMPP) or similar compounds. Rush was sold as an ecstasy alternative and the company described Freq as a “psychedelic sensual disco biscuit.” Neither appear to be currently for sale on the company’s website.
Police said four other products, yet to be tested, are suspected of being Schedule I and III drugs: “Nemesis,” which the company describes as a mild energy pill, “Meo,” which it describes as a “relaxing chill pill,” and “Flip,” which the company describes as “trippy” and “Stiff 4ever” that it says is “for anyone looking to have a blast for hours and perform like a superhero.”
The police detectives involved in the investigation were unavailable to comment on Thursday, and the TPS could not comment on the companies’ CEO, Adam Wookey.
Wookey was arrested in October 2013, as part of a police investigation of traditional illegal drugs and charged with two counts each of possession for the purpose of trafficking marijuana and MDMA, plus two counts of possession of proceeds of crime. A police spokesperson said at the time the arrests had nothing to do with the Izms.
It wasn’t Wookey’s first arrest. He was charged with trafficking in March 2013 following a Hamilton police investigation into the Izms, but the charges were later stayed. He also pleaded guilty to gun possession and drug trafficking offences committed shortly after he turned 18.
In an interview with Metro last spring after his arrest in the Hamilton police investigation, Wookey said he’d seen the toll the illegal drug trade had on young people and one of the reasons he set up Izms was to offer a legal alternative.
“My life was affected by the current system we have in place, a lot of my friends lives were affected,” he said.
He argued it’s harder for teens to get alcohol from liquor stores than drugs from their friends, which creates a drug culture that encourages the use of drugs and offers a tempting economic incentive for teens to deal drugs. That’s why he said he wants to see “drug alternatives” like he sells regulated and sold in stores, instead of being outlawed and thus made part of the illegal drug culture.
His father, Peter Wookey, was arrested in the recent busts and is facing the most charges—including trafficking and producing schedule I, II and III drugs in relation to PurePillz and the Izms—and possession of hashish and marijuana.
Metro
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