Mississauga man linked to deaths in the U.K.

An explosive story in a British newspaper has linked a Mississauga man to the deaths of several young people in the U.K.

The story in the Times of London accuses the man of selling a legal substance through his online mail-order business. That product — identified as sodium nitrate — was then reportedly used by some vulnerable people as a means to kill themselves.

The article alleges that Kenneth Law of Mississauga sold the substance to a reporter posing as a buyer. According to the article, the Times reporter was told the substance was sold to hundreds of people.

The Times alleges that the shipments factored in the deaths of seven people. Across the U.K. there have been 70 cases of suicides through the use of sodium nitrate.

According to reports, Peel Regional Police are now part of the investigation.

In Canada, it is illegal for anyone to counsel or aid a person to die by suicide.

Sodium nitrate is a chemical used in the production of processed meat. Ingested in large amounts, the substance can impair the ability to breathe and can cause death. Some health officials have called for tighter controls on the product after raising the alarm that it is increasingly being used in suicides, especially among young people.

Attempts to reach Law for comment were unsuccessful. In some media reports, he has denied targeting young people who want to kill themselves. He also has said his comments were misrepresented by the Times.

The newspaper, however, stands by its story.

It claims that Law continued selling lethal doses of the product even though he was warned by British authorities that it was being used by people to kill themselves.

When pressed on the matter, the Times reporter said that Law said he was just selling a product.

“People do do this, but it’s not my business — it’s their life,” he allegedly said, according to the Times article. “They are committing suicide themselves. I’m not doing anything. I’m just selling a product. I’m not assisting. It’s your choice. I’m not forcing you to buy anything. Perhaps you may want to stop people buying knives and guns.”

The website that sells the product has since disappeared after the initial story appeared.