The Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) seized more than 100 kilograms of cocaine and arrested 12 suspects in two separate operations targeting organized crime.
The market value of the cocaine seized is estimated at nearly $3.7 million, says the SPVM. Other drugs were also confiscated.
Both operations were carried out on Wednesday by officers from the Organized Crime Division and the Narcotics Unit.
The first stemmed from an investigation into a cocaine distribution network on the Island of Montreal and the North Shore. A 48-year-old man was intercepted in Kirkland, in the west of the island. A cardboard box containing 30 kg of cocaine was inside his vehicle.
Then, shortly after, a second 28-year-old suspect was apprehended, also in Kirkland. Three containers containing 46 kg of cocaine were then seized from his vehicle. Finally, a search carried out in a Laval residence resulted in the seizure of an additional 4 kg of cocaine and the arrest of a 27-year-old suspect.
These three seizures carried out by the SPVM also made it possible to find nearly $8,000 in cash, an electric pulse gun, crack and MDMA (ecstasy).
The second operation followed an investigation started last summer by the Anti-gang team of the Organized Crime Division. A 32-year-old suspect was arrested Wednesday in the Montreal borough of Saint-Leonard as he pulled a hockey bag full of drugs from his vehicle. Inside the bag, the police found 25 kg of cocaine, 1,000 tablets of as yet unidentified narcotics and cannabis.
Eight other people, seven men and one woman, were also apprehended during the police operation, because of their alleged participation in the same network. More than $500,000 in cash, 4 kg of crystal methamphetamine and 4,000 tablets were also seized.
All suspects must appear at the Montreal courthouse to face various charges related to drug trafficking.