GHB production network | Three men sent behind bars

Fatal overdoses and sexual assault: GHB, which can be easily manufactured on a large scale with over-the-counter products, shatters lives. And the courts do not take this into account enough when they punish producers of the “date rape drug”, deplores the sister of a victim.

Three men responsible for one of the largest GHB production networks in Canada recently got away with sentences of less than 10 years.

Sébastien Turcotte, 44, Éric Matte, 42, and Jean-Philippe Robitaille, 45, pleaded guilty last fall to several counts relating to drug trafficking at the Saint-Jérôme courthouse. They received respectively 7, 6 and 5 years in prison, according to the joint suggestion of the parties.

Sophie Livernoche is surprised by such a lenient sentence. GHB, a fairly strong drug, is said to have caused the death of his sister Kim in 2021. Used with bad intentions, this substance can ruin a life, and even kill.

Sophie Livernoche is also stunned by the lack of prevention and the stereotypical view of GHB. “There are people who consume it voluntarily,” she says, “but others are given it without knowing it. The ways of being intoxicated are vast. »

Well-established network

According to details revealed during the investigation into the release of the three bandits, the quantities of chemicals purchased and processed by the trio could have led to the production of 14 to 43 million doses of GHB. Sold individually, this drug could have brought in revenues of $14 to $43 million.

Between December 14, 2021 and April 12, 2022 alone, there were 76 to 89 buckets full of GHB transported through the organization, the equivalent of 346,210 doses and 1,084,910 doses, according to documents filed during the bail hearing (bail hearing).

The three men faced several charges relating to the production, distribution and possession of illicit substances.

Note that they did not admit the facts mentioned during the bail hearing, where an investigator had explained the underside of the police investigation which made it possible to dismantle the laboratory.

The trio conducted their business through a well-established network, according to details from the bail hearing, to which its members did not have to plead guilty or not guilty.

They were arrested in February 2023 after a long investigation by the North Shore Regional Mixed Squad (ERM), we learn in the documents. The police closely monitored Sébastien Turcotte and Éric Matte from 2021. They were then already suspected of being involved in the large-scale distribution of GHB.

The whole thing had the appearance of a family business where some were responsible for supply and others for manufacturing: Jean-Philippe Robitaille also admitted to having purchased various products which he gave to his beau -brother, Sébastien Turcotte. The latter used three raw materials to produce GHB.

The “ingredients” could be obtained legally via the companies Opti-Mixx and Ingrédients Dépôt, according to the summary of the facts at the bail hearing.

Between 2014 and 2022, Turcotte purchased more than 36,000 liters of raw materials and 4,300 buckets for $915,000, paid in cash, according to court documents filed during the bail investigation.

It is stated that he himself transported these products to the laboratory in a U-Haul truck. Everything was then delivered in liquid form in 20 liter buckets.

A lab at home

One of three members of the network worthy of the teleseries breaking Bad had everything available at home to manufacture and process the drug. The laboratory was located in a temporary outdoor facility annexed to Turcotte’s home in Terrebonne. Products, including five burners and five vats, were found in the shed and garage during a search following the arrest.

It was also in this small shelter attached to the house that the police spotted enormous quantities of the three easily obtainable ingredients to produce the “date rape drug”.

The SQ team seized quite a haul: $260,000 divided into six envelopes, mainly in $50 or $100 bills in the safe in the master bedroom of the house. Police also found $40,000 in a shoe rack.

“It needs to be more supervised”

Sophie Livernoche, whose sister died in unclear circumstances after consuming GHB, warns the population against the dangers of this drug, which is too widespread and underestimated, according to her.

His sister Kim Livernoche lost her life in 2021, presumably after being drugged with GHB, in circumstances that are still unclear since the investigation into her death is still ongoing.

According to the coroner, his sister died of respiratory arrest due to a mixture of sleeping pills and GHB. She had been taking medication to help her sleep better for several years.

“I always saw it as the date rape drug that you were given without your knowledge, that made you forget your evening. But many people do not know its impacts, including those who sell and consume it.

“I have the impression that we are not punishing. I really believe that everything that is a strong drug really needs to be more supervised,” she summarizes.