Searches of organized crime leaders | Police can hold seized goods until June

Electronic devices, cell phones, SIM cards, USB keys, luxury watches, bank documents, large sums of money, jewelry bearing the image of the Hells Angels and the Montreal Marauders; Sûreté du Québec investigators will be able to keep dozens of items seized in recent months from individuals who are the subject of a major investigation, including some of the most influential members of organized crime, until at least next June.

This is what Court of Quebec judge Antoine Piché ordered in a 28-page written decision on Friday.

The residences of these individuals, among whom we find in particular the Hells Angels of the Montreal section Martin Robert, Stéphane Plouffe, Rob Barletta, Michel Lamontagne and Gilles Lambert, were searched between March and June, as part of an investigation of the National Organized Crime Repression Squad (ENRCO) called Ravager and which focuses on drug trafficking.

Another suspect, whose residence had also been visited by the police, Francesco Del Balso, was shot and killed in Montreal last June.

Toothpaste in the tube

Since the Supreme Court handed down the Jordan ruling in 2016, which limits the duration of legal proceedings, investigators have been increasing the number of searches during the investigation before proceeding with the arrest of suspects, and this is only From that moment on, the Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions (DPCP) files charges.

However, this approach requires the prosecution to regularly submit motions to court to request extensions of confiscation of seized property, to allow the police to continue their investigations, which are often long and complex in matters of organized crime.

In Ravager’s case, the prosecution made its first request for an extension last fall and chose to ask for a long delay from the start, an additional ten months.

The prosecution therefore requested that the retention period for the seized property be extended until next June. But during hearings this fall, lawyers for the suspects opposed prosecutors’ request and demanded that the period be limited to three months.

They also deplored that the investigator’s affidavit in the file was 90% redacted, saying that this prevents them from adequately defending the rights of their clients and goes against procedural fairness.

They also asked to be able to cross-examine the investigator.

“The investigation in question is at one of the times when she is most vulnerable and where the greatest harm can be done to her. The public interest requires that its nature and extent be preserved. When inside information is revealed, the damage is done. It is no longer possible to go back. As the adage goes, “once the toothpaste is out of the tube, it is impossible to put it back in,” said Judge Piché, refusing the lawyers’ requests.

A complex investigation

As for the retention of seized property, Judge Piché allows the ten-month extension requested by the prosecution, justifying his decision by the complexity of the investigation.

The magistrate mentions in particular the fact that to date, more than 250 judicial authorizations for, in particular, surreptitious entries, bank orders, video observations and electronic surveillance have been issued.

He highlights the seizure of 165 electronic devices, for which the assessments will be lengthy, as well as “the number of potential offenses, some of which raise complex questions, the high degree of sophistication of the criminal activities and the large number of suspects targeted” .

Judge Piché already mentions, for certain seized property, the filing of Lavallée-type requests aimed at examining the information obtained covered by lawyer-client privilege, and warns that these debates risk being long.

“The prosecutor juggles numerous challenges before considering filing charges arising from a project such as “Ravager”,” the judge wrote in his decision.

Rolexes on a showdown

Only one of the targeted individuals, Rhéal Dallaire, demanded that everything seized from his residence be immediately returned to him, including a dozen luxury watches purchased between 2012 and 2021, and worth more than $250,000, we read. in judgment.

But Judge Piché also rejected his request. “In this case, considering the facts revealed so far by the investigation, the Court considers that the balance is currently maintained. »

“This is a broad investigative project that aims to tackle crimes that threaten public safety and its democratic institutions. The public interest in seeing this investigation completed is serious,” the judge concluded.

In the magistrate’s decision, we also learn that Mr. Dallaire submitted 114 names for which attorney-client privilege was invoked.

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