(Saint-Hyacinthe) Investigators from the Montérégie Regional Mixed Squad (ERM) have been searching since Thursday morning the business and residence of a member of the Hells Angels in Saint-Hyacinthe, as part of an investigation aimed at dismantling of a network of drug traffickers operating in the MRC des Maskoutains.
Posted at 7:13 a.m.
Updated at 8:51 a.m.
The business – a car wash – and the residence visited by the police are those of Sylvain Tétreault, 54, a member of the Hells Angels of the South section.
Since early Thursday morning, dozens of police have been carrying out twenty searches of residences, businesses and vehicles, mainly in Saint-Hyacinthe.
These are searches under investigation. No suspects will be arrested and charged at this time.
PHOTO PATRICK SANFAÇON, THE PRESS
A commercial garage located not far from the car wash is also visited by the police.
Since the Supreme Court’s Jordan decision, which limits legal proceedings to 18 months in the Court of Quebec, the police first carry out a series of searches to gather their evidence before the suspects are arrested and the Director of Criminal Prosecutions and Penal (DPCP) files charges, to meet legal deadlines.
“The operation, which stems from an investigation that began in June 2021, mobilized more than 150 police officers from the CSMRC stations in Saint-Hyacinthe, the operational center in Boucherville, the Sûreté du Québec tactical intervention group, the Gendarmerie of Canada and the police services of the agglomeration of Longueuil and the City of Mercier”, indicates the Sûreté du Québec in a press release issued this morning.
Five years on the run
PHOTO ARCHIVES PRESS
Sylvain Tétreault, member of the Hells Angels of the South section
Sylvain Tétreault, whose nickname is Sylvano, was released in November 2015 after serving a few months in prison following his arrest in the major anti-biker roundup SharQc.
But on the day of the famous operation, April 15, 2009, Tétreault had slipped through the cracks and it was not until five years later, in 2014, that he was arrested.
During his long run, Tétreault had forged a new identity under the name of Michel L’Heureux, and possessed false official documents. He had become a master diver and even gave diving lessons to ordinary citizens who saw nothing but fire on the North Shore of Montreal.
In 2000, Tétreault was also sentenced to five years in prison for a conspiracy charge.
He is also part of a group of 19 Hells Angels who are suing the state for 85 million, claiming they were illegally detained after Operation SharQc.
To reach Daniel Renaud, dial 514 285-7000, ext. 4918, write to [email protected] or write to the postal address of The Press.