Canadian man linked to more than 100 UK deaths will not be extradited, families demand inquiry

A Canadian man accused of supplying lethal substances linked to the deaths of more than 100 people in the UK will not be extradited to face prosecution in Britain.

Kenneth Law, 60, is currently facing criminal proceedings in Canada and is expected to appear in court in Ontario on Friday. He is accused of aiding suicide after allegedly distributing packages containing lethal substances to customers in dozens of countries.

The National Crime Agency linked Law's alleged operation to 112 deaths in the UK after tracing 286 people who received packages from websites selling substances associated with assisted suicide, Sky News reported.

Investigators found that 330 products were shipped to the UK. Law is accused of sending around 1,200 packages to customers across 40 countries.

The NCA and Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) informed families this week that they would not seek Law's extradition after Canadian proceedings conclude.

In a letter sent to the families of those who died, the agencies said they had agreed Law should be sentenced in Canada for the full scale of the alleged offending through a single legal process.

“After careful assessment, we agreed that Mr Law should be sentenced for the full extent of his offending within a single sentencing process in Canada,” the letter stated.

Authorities acknowledged that some families had hoped for a separate prosecution in England and Wales but said the decision followed detailed consideration of all available options.

The move prompted renewed calls for a public inquiry from relatives of those who died.

Adele Zeynep Walton, whose sister Aimee Walton died aged 21 in Southampton in 2022, said families were still waiting for answers about how the substances were able to reach vulnerable people in Britain.

“A foreign sentencing hearing cannot answer that. Only a statutory public inquiry can,” she said as quoted by Sky News.

Law has also been investigated by authorities in the United States, Italy, Australia and New Zealand as law enforcement agencies examine the international reach of the alleged scheme.

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