Two people in Biddeford died this week of suspected opiate-related overdoses that may be related to a bad batch of heroin police found circulating in town last week, according to police.

The first overdose was reported Tuesday at a residence on Foss Street, where an officer discovered a 36-year-old man who was unresponsive and later declared dead at the scene.

Evidence that led police to believe the man was suffering from an overdose was found on his body, police said. The Biddeford street crime unit, criminal investigation division, an evidence technician and the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency investigated.

The second death was reported Wednesday at 38 South St., where Biddeford police and rescue workers found a 33-year-old man lying unresponsive on the kitchen floor. Attempts to revive him were unsuccessful and he was also declared dead at the scene.

The man apparently had arrived at the address a few moments before collapsing, according to a woman who lives there.

“She stated that he fell to the floor and she was not able to get him to respond,” according to a summary of the incident included in a daily police activity log.

There were no signs of drugs or paraphernalia in the apartment, but the criminal investigations division was notified.

Deputy Chief JoAnne Fisk said police are looking into whether the deaths are connected to a batch of heroin found circulating in the city March 30 that appeared to mostly consist of the synthetic opioid fentanyl.

Police arrested a 24-year-old South Street man, Edward Estes, on a charge of drug trafficking in that case.

Estes was allegedly tied to drugs involved in two overdoses at a different South Street address in March, but both of those people survived after receiving treatment at Southern Maine Health Care.

Mixing heroin with fentanyl or cocaine markedly amplifies the drug’s potency and the danger of overdose, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

Matt Byrne can be contacted at 791-6303 or at:

mbyrne@pressherald.com

Copy the Story Link