A 38-year-old man from Saint-Constant, on the South Shore of Montreal, was sentenced to 78 months in penitentiary Thursday morning in Montreal after being caught red-handed in possession of 29 kilograms of cocaine, valued at $600,000.
Urbano Dias Costa De Jesus was arrested on May 13 by investigators from the Antigang section of the Organized Crime Division of the Montreal Police Department (SPVM).
They had received information from sources that Dias Costa De Jesus was involved in drug trafficking and they began to monitor him.
After about ten surveillances, during which the police observed him making brief contact with individuals, the sleuths saw him enter an apartment building on Saint-Paul Street West in Montreal with five boxes, and they immediately arrested him.
PHOTO FILED IN COURT
Urbano Dias Costa De Jesus entering a building on Saint-Paul Street West in Montreal with a box containing cocaine, a few minutes before being arrested on May 13.
Investigators discovered 29 kilograms in the five boxes, but found another 70 kilograms in an apartment where the suspect had gone.
Last May, a kilogram of cocaine was selling for around $23,000 in Montreal, bringing the total value of the seizure to more than $2.3 million.
In the apartment, the police also seized a kilogram of crystal meth and found other quantities of drugs at Dias Costa De Jesus’s and at another residence in Saint-Constant.
Dias Costa De Jesus, who has a history of similar offenses, pleaded guilty Thursday to three counts of possession of cocaine, crystal meth and cannabis for the purpose of trafficking or sale.
The Prosecution, represented by Mr.e Richard Audet and Me Véronique Warthold, and the Defense, provided by Me Gilbert Frigon and Me Alex Palma, agreed to a 78-month sentence which was ratified by Judge Pierre Dupras of the Court of Quebec.
Subtracting the time spent in preventive detention, which is calculated in time and a half, Dias Costa De Jesus has 73 months left in prison to serve as of today.
An accomplice is still accused in this case: Jude Saint-Élien, 56, who rented the apartment where the 100 kilograms of cocaine were found.
To contact Daniel Renaud, dial 514 285-7000, ext. 4918, write to [email protected] or write to the postal address of The Press.