A Laval company, presumably having the sale of baby wipes and diapers as a cover, could have been used to actually import thousands of kilograms of cocaine into Montreal and Quebec for two years.
This is at least what court documents from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) suggest that The Press obtained and which tell us that the federal police of the United States and Canada are investigating a seizure made in Texas, in August 2022, of 700 kilograms of cocaine which were intended for Montreal and whose interception never made the headlines here.
The drugs, concealed in boxes of baby wipes manufactured and imported from Mexico, and transported in a semi-trailer truck, were intercepted by chance, during a second inspection carried out by American customs officers on the Colombia-Solidarity bridge, in Laredo.
PHOTO PUBLISHED IN A COURT DOCUMENT
The kilograms of cocaine were concealed in boxes of baby wipes made in Mexico.
There were 26 pallets of wipes in the trailer, 12 of which carried boxes containing cocaine.
Within days of the seizure, United States authorities issued a statement stating that the drug was valued at 11 million Americans on the street.
The announcement did not mention Montreal, because it is probably by pushing their investigation that the American police then learned that the drugs were to go to the metropolis.
12 imports in two years
According to court documents, the baby wipes were imported by the company Les produits AJ, whose address is on avenue Eliot, in Laval.
At the time of the events, its president was a certain Peterson Suffrard, 35 years old. Previously, the company was run by Alyssa James according to research at the Registraire des entreprises.
It is understood, according to the documents, that the company, which was not active before 2020, began to come alive from the middle of the year.
Also according to court documents, AJ Products ordered 12 imports of baby wipes and other hygiene products from Mexico between August 24, 2020 and June 8, 2022, still doing business with the same supply companies. , transport and brokerage. The 13e import is that intercepted in August 2022 in Laredo, Texas.
The AJ Products trading account was opened on July 9, 2020, six weeks before the first import.
Abandoned goods
After being made aware of the seizure and the preliminary results of their investigation by their American counterparts, RCMP C Division (Quebec) investigators discovered 233 pallets of wipes and baby diapers in two warehouses on the street Chabanel and 14 others in a building at 55e Avenue in Dorval.
The products found on rue Chabanel, whose display was still in Spanish, were not ripe for sale.
“The dog handler did not detect the presence of narcotics. In a suite, new cardboard boxes, industrial tape, rolls of plastic wrap, protective gloves and two utility knives were observed. I believe the items found in the suite were used to open boxes of wipes and diapers, take narcotics [s’y] finding them, and packing them in new boxes to transport them to another location,” writes the police officer who wrote an affidavit in support of the court documents.
“Note that the 233 pallets of wipes and baby diapers were full of boxes, and represent a great loss. These products were abandoned in the warehouses by the company Les produits AJ, ”continues the police officer.
Investigators interviewed the manager of a legal Montreal company who said he transported and stored 364 pallets of wipes for AJ Products between September and June 2022.
The RCMP does not rule out that hundreds of kilograms of cocaine have entered Montreal since 2020.
Due to the quantities involved, one would think that an established criminal organization or organizations are behind the attempted importation of 700 kilograms.
A nominee
According to the documents, Peterson Suffrard was arrested on February 16 and met by RCMP officers.
The man, who reportedly has an active fraud case with Ottawa police, said he was recruited by an unknown person as a frontman for the company that imported the wipes, that he only took part in the banking operations of the company, that at the request of the stranger, he opened an account and made deposits and bank transfers, and that he received approximately $15,000 for his services.
Mr. Suffrard is not accused in this case. The material contained in the court documents, although public, has not been tested in court.
Concurrent with the RCMP investigation, several US federal agencies are also continuing to investigate the 700 kilograms intercepted at Laredo.
To reach Daniel Renaud, dial 514 285-7000, ext. 4918, write to [email protected] or write to the postal address of The Press.