Unknown drugs investigated in Toronto music festival deaths

Toronto Police have identified two drugs related to a slew of illnesses and deaths at a rave music festival.

This weekend a woman, 20, and a man, 22, died after taking party drugs at the Veld Music Festival at Downsview Park. 13 others were taken to hospital, and some of them are still there.

Police say the partygoers reported taking either a small brown pill or a small clear capsule with a white substance inside. They became faint and many of them had seizures.

Investigators are still waiting for autopsy results and toxicology reports on the two people who died.

The homicide unit is investigating because the deaths appear to be the result of someone selling drugs at the festival. They want to know what was in those pills, and are appealing for anyone who bought drugs at the festival to turn them into police without legal consequences.

So far, only one person has done that.

The hospitalized victims haven’t been able to identify the drugs.

Detective-Sergeant Peter Trimble says “unfortunately, some of these people didn’t even know what they were taking. We had some people taking upwards of ten pills, some picking up pills on the ground.”

Commander Roy Suthins of Toronto EMS: “It’s a significant disadvantage when we do not know what the substance is that may have been consumed by the body. And so in that case what happens is patients are treated symptomatically.”

Police haven’t spoken to festival organizers but say they expect to soon. They also say they have some information about a possible seller, but wouldn’t elaborate on that part of the investigation.