Investigators from the Organized Crime Division of the Montreal Police Service got their hands on 21 kilograms of cocaine, and arrested four individuals on Wednesday in the Laurentians.
The price per kilogram of cocaine is currently trading at $30,000 in the Montreal area. The value of the drugs seized therefore amounts to a minimum of $630,000 before it is cut and resold on the street.
Three of the suspects, Yan Laframboise, 37, of Oka, and brothers Marc Bélanger-Laurin, 35, and François Bélanger-Laurin, 32, of Mirabel and Saint-Colomban respectively, were charged with possession of cocaine in a traffic goal Thursday at the Montreal courthouse.
The fourth individual arrested has not been charged.
DCO investigators carried out four searches of residences and two of vehicles on Thursday, in Saint-André-d’Argenteuil, Mirabel and Saint-Colomban, and in addition to drugs, they seized six luxury watches worth $150,000 , $56,000 in cash, computers and keys used for cryptocurrency transactions, and six long guns.
Two 2021 and 2023 F-150 trucks, which were allegedly used to commit the offences, were also seized as offence-related property.
The shadow of the Hells Angels?
Police say the suspects have ties to the South Section Hells Angels.
They would have distributed the drug to customers scattered throughout the greater Montreal area.
The investigation began at the beginning of the year, after the police received information from sources.
The sleuths carried out several surveillances and found that one of the accused traveled regularly to the Toronto area during the investigation.
“One of the suspects was returning from the Toronto area with 15 of the kilograms seized when we arrested him. The drugs were coming to Montreal. Once again, it is traffickers who use the Toronto-Montreal corridor,” responded SPVM DCO Commander Francis Renaud, whose investigators have seized tens of kilograms of cocaine from the Toronto area since the end of of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) cooperated with the investigation.
To reach Daniel Renaud, dial 514 285-7000, ext. 4918, write to [email protected] or write to the postal address of The Press.