An individual linked to street gangs suspected of having been involved in a shooting incident that occurred in Montreal last May was arrested on Wednesday evening in Ontario, La Presse has learned.
Posted at 5:37 p.m.
Hamza Adnane, 21, was apprehended under a Canada-wide warrant by investigators from the Multidisciplinary Team Dedicated to Firearms (ÉMAF) northeast of the Montreal Police Service created shortly before the holidays .
According to our information, the young man had been holed up for a number of weeks in accommodation rented on Airbnb in Ontario, about a nine-hour drive from Montreal. After leaving this pied-à-terre on Wednesday afternoon, the young man was probably followed by the police who apprehended him in Sudbury.
The police believe that Adnane is involved in a shooting event that occurred on May 22, 2021 at the corner of rue des Angevins and rue de Lisieux, in the borough of Saint-Léonard.
The event had caused no injuries, but had caused enough excitement for patrol officers in the sector to make connections, come to suspect Adnane and inform their colleagues at the EMAF in the northeast region.
Adnane has only had one criminal record since he was an adult, an impaired driving case still active in court, but he is well known to SPVM police officers in Saint-Léonard, where he lives.
Investigators also believe that he could be involved in other violent events.
These are the results of some expertise that would have allowed investigators to make a link between Adnane and the events of May 22 on rue des Angevins.
Around the same time that Adnane was arrested, investigators carried out two searches of buildings in neighborhood station 45, in northeast Montreal.
As they carried out their strikes, they saw an alleged accomplice of Adnane, Christian Bernadotte, hiding an object in a grove not far from his residence.
While searching the grove, they found a handgun.
Like Adnane, Bernadotte, 19, was charged with discharging a firearm without regard for the safety of others on or around May 22 in Montreal. He also faces counts of possession of a restricted firearm.
A 3and individual, Zakaria Benathmane, who will soon be 20 years old, was also arrested and charged with fraud.
Guns and rap videos
Police consider Adnane, whose nickname is Mekra, to be a member of the street gang of red allegiance STL from the borough of Saint-Léonard and a close associate of Yahya Mouhime, a member of the same group who has been detained for about a year.
Mouhime, 20, a rapper nicknamed VT, made headlines in late 2020 and early 2021.
Wanted for appearing with real firearms in one of his videos posted on social media, he was long nowhere to be found and was finally arrested after a months-long run during which he taunted the police by throwing a new video of the same ilk.
Sources who know Adnane tell us they recognize him, despite his mask, holding a gun with a laser sight in one of Yahya Mouhime’s rap videos.
The two SPVM EMAF teams report to the Organized Crime Division and are one of the components of the Centaur Quebec strategy to fight firearms trafficking launched by the Legault government last fall.
To reach Daniel Renaud, dial 514 285-7000, ext. 4918, write to [email protected] or write to the postal address of The Press.