(Quebec) The right-hand man of alleged trafficker Dave “Pic” Turmel was arrested Thursday in Portugal, where he had probably taken refuge with his boss to escape the violent conflict against the Hells Angels.
The Quebec City Police Service (SPVQ) announced Friday morning that Roobens Denis “was arrested Thursday at our request by the Portuguese police authorities.” The police present him in a press release as Turmel’s “trusted man”, which matches information from several sources.
The 31-year-old man had been on the run since last July. On July 26, the police arrested seven people, notably for drug trafficking and threats. But the SPVQ was unable to get its hands on Roobens Denis and his alleged boss, Dave Turmel. Both have since been wanted with arrest warrants in their names.
According to sources, Turmel and Denis had in fact taken refuge in Europe. “Pic’s” gang, the Blood Family Mafia (BFM), was in open war with the bikers for control of the cocaine trade in eastern Quebec.
In a video viewed by The Presswe can see bikers installing a “puck” – a GPS beacon – under what would be Turmel’s car, parked in front of a stripper bar on the south shore of Quebec.
The scene was captured by a security camera and the tape recovered by Turmel’s men. Believing there was a price on his head, Turmel left the country and is believed to be in Europe.
The arrest of Roobens Denis suggests that Dave Turmel is indeed in Europe, and that he is still evading the police.
The Sûreté du Québec and the SPVQ announced Thursday that they had arrested 32 suspects in a major operation. Most of those arrested are believed to be affiliated with the BFM, which is said to have carried out several bloody atrocities against criminal bikers.