Fight against the illegal sale of cannabis | Ten arrests in an unprecedented investigation

Online cannabis traffickers suspected of having concluded 70,000 transactions totaling $15 million, around ten individuals, some of whom are linked to organized crime, arrested and charged, more than $7 million in blocked values, investigators who succeed, through false declarations, in obtaining permits to produce marijuana for medical purposes from Health Canada: the Sûreté du Québec has just concluded an innovative and unprecedented investigation into the fight against illegal cannabis trafficking.

The investigation, called Postcure, led by investigators from the ACCES Cannabis program (funded by the government) and the Contraband Investigation Service of the Sûreté du Québec (SQ), began in February 2020, when Quebec was on the point of being frozen by health measures against COVID-19, and that the newly created Société québécoise du cannabis (SQDC) was not yet very active in online sales.

It all started when a Canada Post investigator noticed that individuals were buying cases of 100 of prepaid Xpresspost envelopes.

These white padded envelopes cost $14 to $23 each, and do not display sender information.

Investigators began by intercepting envelopes in transit and found that they contained marijuana in various forms.

Some were intended for addresses located in around twenty villages in the Far North of Quebec, according to a court document obtained by The Press.

Buy without stress

One thing led to another and the sleuths learned that the envelopes were being sent to consumers who had purchased cannabis online, on two websites.

“ [Nom du site] is one of the best online shopping websites for purchasing marijuana on the East Coast, as we offer a huge selection of marijuana products from British Columbia, Toronto and Montreal. Available for the Montreal area, online purchasing of marijuana, concentrates, edible products, cannabis and vapes is quick, easy and stress-free,” announced one of them.

Shadowing and other investigative techniques then allowed investigators to identify half a dozen places where cannabis plants were produced, notably in Saint-Étienne-de-Beauharnois, Saint-Lazare and Montreal.

“It was noticed that the production cell was operating under the cover of registration certificates for medical purposes from Health Canada. In this file alone, more than 40 certificates have been identified. So the cannabis was produced in these places and was then processed and shipped to customers,” explains Lieutenant Daniel McCoy, group leader of the SQ’s Contraband Investigation Department.

The investigators themselves, under the cover of anonymity, made cannabis purchases on the two online sites.

But above all, and this would be a first in Quebec: through a company belonging to one of the accused, they managed to obtain, with the help of the company and a health professional from Ontario, two registration certificates for the production of cannabis for medical purposes from Health Canada.

Last year, The Press had revealed, supported by police testimony, that the federal program had been hijacked by organized crime.

“We were able to obtain two certificates. One for the production of 482 plants, for a dose of 99 grams per day. It cost $2,000 plus taxes, with consultation from a health professional. The second one was for 40 grams and cost half the price. So, this means that if you want more plants, the consultation costs you more,” explains the lieutenant.

Impressive sums

Customers, who were mainly in Quebec, paid by Interac transfer for cannabis purchased on the two sites.

The sums were then transferred to at least thirty bank accounts which changed continually, presumably to cover traces.

After obtaining bank orders, investigators were still able to trace 70,000 transactions carried out since the start of 2018, and forensic accountants established that these had totaled 15 million in a year and a half.

Investigators used extensive investigative means. In particular, they installed microphones and cameras, and made surreptitious entries into a building on rue Jarry Est, in the borough of Saint-Léonard, in Montreal.

“We saw a lot of members of organized crime going to this address. It really is a hub. We also saw people linked to drug trafficking in general. People coming in and out with money. Many false identities were created there. We could see that through different companies, we helped launder funds linked to other groups and criminal activities,” says Mr. Mc Coy.

Mafia and Western Gang

Ten individuals, some believed to be linked to the mafia and traditional Irish organized crime according to police, were arrested and are accused of laundering the proceeds of crime or producing, possessing, trafficking and selling cannabis.

According to police, the three alleged leaders are Antonino Salvo, 63, and David Keith Bishop, 53, both from Montreal, as well as Jonathane Séguin, 46, from Notre-Dame-de-l’Île-Perrot.

Antonino Salvo has no criminal history in Quebec. However, he was observed by the police during the major anti-mafia investigation by the RCMP Colisée carried out between 2002 and 2006, according to our information.

For his part, David Keith Bishop was sentenced to five years in prison and fined US$250,000 in the United States after he and accomplices were arrested for selling and transporting $17 million worth of cigarettes of contraband between Missouri and New York State, from July 2010 to January 2012.

Another of the accused that police link to traditional Irish organized crime in Montreal, Normand Évrard, 65, has an extensive criminal history.

In 2001, he and accomplices were arrested after attempting to steal, using a thermal lance, an armored truck from the defunct Secur cash transport company.

Other arrests

The other individuals charged in the Postcure Project are Hedi D’Meza, 35, Amato Ricardo Marandola, 38, Mathieu Houde, 48, Stéphane Bellucci, 49, and Bruno Desmarais, 61, all of Montreal, and Gérard Gauvreau, 57, from Oka.

“This case is an excellent example of the proximity of people involved in cannabis with links to Montreal organized crime. We have put a lot of effort into recovering criminal assets and we are very proud of it,” says Captain Marc-André Proulx, head of the ACCES Cannabis program at the SQ.

For their investigation, Sûreté du Québec investigators were helped by their colleagues from the Proceeds of Crime of the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) and used a report from the Financial Operations and Declarations Analysis Center of the Canada (FINTRAC).

The SQ intends to use the fact that it was able to obtain two registration certificates for the production of cannabis for medical purposes during its investigation to request tightened controls from Health Canada, while Ottawa is in the process of to revise the Cannabis law. She also intends to approach the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario.

To contact Daniel Renaud, call 514 285-7000, ext. 4918, write to [email protected] or write to the postal address of The Press.