WARMINGTON: YRP put drug dealers on notice with manslaughter charge

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To York Regional Police, it was not just a drug overdose.

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They investigated this death as a manslaughter.

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And now York Regional Police Chief Jim MacSween has sent a message to drug dealers that they will hear loud and clear: You can, run but if the person you sold drugs to dies, you may not be able to hide.

“We take these matters with the utmost seriousness,” the chief told the Toronto Sun.

A 21-year-old Georgina man has found that out the hard way. While the man found dead last year at Bathurst St. and Ner Israel Dr. in Vaughan was ruled an overdose, police went to work with the Centre of Forensic Sciences to investigate it. On Tuesday, they announced their result. It was a stunner.

“York Regional Police #4 District Criminal investigations Bureau (CIB) have charged a man with manslaughter and drug trafficking, following an overdose death in the City of Vaughan Sept. 15, 2024,” a news release said.

With about 80 overdose deaths each year in York Region in recent times, it has become an epidemic.

But when an alleged dealer can be busted if there is an overdose death, the risk is not just on the person digesting the drugs but also on those pushing them.

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It’s not easy to investigate these matters. But YRP was right to do it.

“It’s important to remember that someone lost their life,” said MacSween, adding YRP detectives “strive for justice for victims and their families and to bring them some sense of closure. Our resolve in combating illegal activities remains as strong as ever.”

Farzam Jafari Roudsari, 29, of Georgina, has found this out.

“On August 21, 2025, investigators arrested the suspect,” YRP said in a news release. “A search warrant was executed at his residence, where officers seized a quantity of controlled substances and proceeds of crime.”

In addition to manslaughter, Roudsari has also been charged with six counts of “trafficking schedule I substances, possession of proceeds of property obtained by Crime Under $5000” and two counts of “breach of probation” since “at the time of his arrest Roudsari was on probation for unrelated offences.”

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The Criminal Code indicates “schedule I substances” include opium, morphine, fentanyl, cocaine and any derivatives of any of them. The deceased in this matter has not been identified. But he was a fellow human being. And police alleged that his drug death was more than an overdose but a crime.

None of the charges against this accused have been tested in court. Roudsari is considered innocent until proven guilty. But YRP is taking him to court. They are not treating what happened to the man who died of an overdose as a minor drug mishap.

While there have been similar attempts to hold alleged drug dealers accountable, it needs to become a trend. Criminals need to know that when they sell their contraband they could end up on a murder charge. In York Region, an overdose death is not simply just closed and filed as just another junkie who had a bad trip.

“Our resolve in combating illegal activities remains as strong as ever,” MacSween said.

In York Region, they may not catch every drug dealer whose stuff kills their addicted customer.

But the chief has sent a message that they are sure going to try.

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