Canadian chef accused of selling at least 18 suicide kits to Dutch customers

A former Canadian chef accused of selling suicide kits online shipped 18 packages containing suicide-related materials to customers in the Netherlands. This was revealed by court documents obtained by Dutch broadcaster RTL Nieuws.

Kenneth Law, 60, is accused of supplying lethal substances to vulnerable people, many of them young, in countries around the world. Prosecutors say customers used the substances to end their lives or attempted to do so.

Law shipped more than 1,200 packages to 41 countries, according to a statement co-signed by Law. The shipments included 33 to Germany and 12 to Belgium. The largest numbers went to the United States, with 431, and Britain, with 330.

Law was arrested at his home in Mississauga, Ontario, in spring 2023. Prosecutors say he targeted people experiencing suicidal thoughts through online forums before selling them the packages through businesses presented as legitimate operations. His youngest known customer was 17, while the oldest was 38.

Between January 2020 and May 2023, Law earned approximately 190,000 euros from the operation. He has said he acted out of “compassion.”

The packages, which cost about 80 euros each, contained sachets of sodium nitrate, a preservative commonly used in processed meat. Although legally available for certain uses, the substance can be fatal when ingested in high concentrations. Law also shipped so-called “ext masks,” which provide a limited oxygen supply.

Experts cited in the case say attempts to due using such substances can involve severe side effects, may last up to 40 hours, and are not necessarily painless. There is no antidote or medication to reverse their effects.

The importation of pure or highly concentrated sodium nitrate by private individuals is prohibited in the Netherlands and the European Union. Dutch Customs told RTL it would not comment on whether Canadian authorities had informed it about Law’s Dutch customers.