Five individuals likely linked to organized crime were arrested Wednesday in Saint-Jérôme as part of a vast police operation which also led to the seizure of several firearms, various quantities of narcotics and cash.
According to the information that was first transmitted by the authorities, the five men who were apprehended are known to police circles.
The Service de police de la Ville de Saint-Jérôme (SPVSJ) says that the individuals arrested are suspected of being part of “organized criminal networks”. The five men will be met by investigators during the day on Wednesday, before knowing the rest of their fate.
This investigation began a few months ago following “information from the public” which made it possible to obtain search warrants “in connection with violent criminal activities, thefts and drug trafficking”. From dawn on Wednesday, searches were therefore carried out in “five different locations”, leading to the arrest of the same number of suspects.
In total, “more than 70 SPVSJ police officers and investigators took part in the police operation with the assistance of members of the Regional Mixed Squad (ERM), police officers from the Sureté́ du Québec, the Tactical Intervention Group ( SQ) and the Canine Squad (SQ),” the local police force said.
So far, the Saint-Jérôme police, who were still conducting searches at the end of the morning, claim to have “seized several firearms as well as imitations of weapons, large quantities of narcotics, money as well as other elements relevant to the entire investigation”.
The primary purpose of the operation was to “destabilize the network that controls the sale of narcotics on the territory of Saint-Jérôme”, explains the SPVSJ.
Anyone who has relevant information to transmit in connection with drug trafficking or “other criminal activities” in Saint-Jérôme is invited to contact the investigators of the police department, by calling 450-432-1111, option 7.