They are regulars in the nightlife and social events like the Grand Prix. But the agents of Eclipse are not there to feast and sip the best champagnes: they observe with a watchful eye the criminals during this summer weekend. The Press accompanied the team specializing in gathering information on Friday evening as the Formula 1 weekend began in Montreal.
The Eclipse squad in brief
- The Eclipse Squad was created in 2008 to fight crimes related to street gangs.
- The workforce has doubled over the past year and a half. The mission – to gather information and make itself visible to criminals – has been broadened by the recent surge in gun violence.
- Eclipse now supports neighborhood stations in areas deemed hotter in certain interventions.
“The F1 weekend is our big weekend of the year in terms of gathering information,” says David Paradis, commander in charge of the SPVM’s Eclipse section, straight away. The Press.
He and his colleagues hasten to draw up the agenda for the Eclipse team in a large room where the mugshots dozens of notorious criminals. A few agents from the Sûreté du Québec (SQ) and Équinoxe, the Laval equivalent of Eclipse, take their places around the table. Their visit is not insignificant: the Grand Prix is a gold mine of information for all police forces.
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
Police officers from Éclipse, accompanied by a few agents from the Sûreté du Québec and Équinoxe, the Laval equivalent of Éclipse, set off for the evening.
The Montreal Grand Prix is not the prerogative of fans of fluorescent green Lamborghinis or influencers in search of visibility.
Young members of street gangs, notorious fraudsters and masterminds of organized crime: bandits of all kinds take part in the festivities. They may dabble in illegality, the desire to expose themselves is sometimes stronger, summarizes Commander Paradis. They are all fond of jet setgastronomy and trendy clubs.
First stop of the evening: an event held on a terrace in the city center, the heart of the F1 festivities. Reality TV stars rub shoulders with fearsome criminals in this small space where alcohol flows freely for a weekend, has seen The Press.
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
Agents in a downtown business
” It’s already jam-packed “Explains an agent who did his research on social networks.
The dozen police officers and intelligence agents therefore burst in, sneaking between the luxury cars, on the lookout. We are looking for the jackpot in terms of information gathering.
The jackpot in question, a well-known face of gangs and organized crime, waddles on the dance floor, shirt unbuttoned and bottle of Hennessy XO cognac in hand. He welcomes the Eclipse police officers with a broad smile, begins to dance even more and even exchanges a few handshakes, laughing. He obviously has a habit of rubbing shoulders with the authorities.
Essential work
The evening continues without a hitch. Passage obligatory near a chic hotel in the heart of the city center. Francesco Del Balso, influential mafia close to the Hells Angels killed a few weeks ago, had been seen on site at the last Grand Prix. The queue – which continues to grow – mixes with tourists and passers-by. Despite this compact mass, the known faces of the criminal world do not escape the seasoned eye of the agents of Eclipse. It only takes a minute to spot topics of interest.
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
Équinoxe police officer, the Laval equivalent of Eclipse
A well-known mobster is identified. He remains polite, but seems somewhat sullen at the police watching him.
The Eclipse police are a little over forty on Friday, double that of a normal evening. The intelligence agents accompany them on Friday evening. The opportunity to deepen the relationship with their contact.
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
David Paradis, commander in charge of the SPVM Eclipse section
Eclipse generates an immense amount of information for the intelligence section. It’s a gold mine of information.
David Paradis, commander in charge of the SPVM Eclipse section
Better still: by observing the criminals who feast and exchange, they manage to spot discreet but very involved individuals, and even emerging gangs. Bandits absent from databases therefore become subjects of interest as the evenings go by, scrutinizing the most prominent dining rooms in Montreal.
“If you don’t have a criminal record, but you’ve been seen meeting a big player for three or four times … that’s where it can be very useful in investigations”, summarizes an Eclipse veteran .
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
The Grand Prix in Montreal is a goldmine of information for all police forces.
The links between criminal groups are born and evolve under the gaze of Eclipse.
Accelerate investigations
The information collected sometimes turns out to be useful very quickly. The commander cites the example of a shooting that occurred recently late in the evening in a licensed establishment known to the police. However, Eclipse had been there during the evening. So we knew who was there, which helped speed up the investigation.
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
The Eclipse police were just over 40 on Friday, double that of a normal evening.
“It’s impressive, the work they are able to do. We can go into a place where there is a crowd and they can draw up a list of who is who very quickly, ”underlines the commander of Eclipse, David Paradis.
Gathering information is essential at all times, believes David Paradis, one of the people behind ELTA, the Team dedicated to the fight against arms trafficking. He admits all the same that it is about a neuralgic moment within the organized crime: eminent maffioso beaten in broad daylight, almost daily arson attacks, attempted murder. Identifying known faces and gathering information is therefore of the utmost importance in this context of instability.