More than 130,000 fatal doses of fentanyl could be on the streets of Bermuda, with Chief Medical Officer Cheryl Peek-Ball describing the amount of missing drugs as “exceptionally large and dangerous”.

Canadian Jacqueline Robinson was jailed for seven years last Friday for smuggling 45 pellets of the drug into Bermuda — and the Supreme Court heard how all but one of them were never recovered.

At Robinson’s hearing, prosecutor Cindy Clarke told the court that the total weight of 45 pills would be approximately 262 grams.

The court heard how Robinson, 25, collapsed in a room at the Hamilton Princess Hotel & Beach Club five days after arriving from Toronto on December 15 last year.

While being medically assessed, she vomited a pellet, which was later found to be 5.83 grams of fentanyl.

The drug — a synthetic opioid up to 100 times more powerful than morphine — is often used to cut heroin and can be fatal even in very small doses.

According to Dr Peek-Ball, it also poses a serious risk to both the public and first responders, as well as those who work in labs and various healthcare capacities who may have professional exposure.

She said: “Given that two milligrams of fentanyl is known to be lethal, the unaccounted for quantity equates to 131,000 lethal doses.

“Contact with fentanyl through inhalation or skin must be avoided at all cost.

“Even minuscule quantities — as small as a grain of salt — can cause immediate harmful health effects, including respiratory depression, unconsciousness and death.”

Last month, Lieutenant-Colonel Edward Lamb, Commissioner of Corrections, confirmed that an internal investigation was continuing after suspected fentanyl-related overdoses at Westgate Correctional Facility.

That followed a media report in April that multiple inmates at the prison had suffered overdoses thought to be connected with the drug.

Also last month, a Ministry of Health and Seniors spokeswoman said that four samples had tested positive for the drug.

The samples were collected between December 2016 and May 2017. No further information was provided.

Police said their investigation into the unrecovered fentanyl remained active.

“There is no connection with any other suspected fentanyl overdoses,” a Bermuda Police Service spokesman said.

The agency reminded the public of the dangers of the drug.

“Those that may come into contact with this illegal substance should exercise extreme caution, be aware of any signs of exposure, seek immediate medical attention if exposed to any amount, and provide as much detail as possible to medical personnel so appropriate treatment can be considered,” the spokesman said.

There have been no deaths connected with the drug in Bermuda.

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