7 arrests made in police operation targeting Italian organized crime in Montreal
Posted April 9, 2025 7:25 am.
Last Updated April 9, 2025 5:27 pm.
Montreal police say they arrested seven individuals early Wednesday as part of an operation targeting a traditional Italian organized crime group in the Montreal area.
The suspects – six men aged 34 to 59 and a 44-year-old woman – were arrested in LaSalle, Verdun, and Brossard. Around 40 police officers took part in the operation.
Five of the suspects are facing charges of committing an offence for the benefit of a criminal organization, trafficking in substances, and possession of substances for the purpose of trafficking.
Montreal police say it was important to hit a branch of Italian mafia that is sometimes overlooked.
“We don’t hear about LaSalle and organized crime, Italian organized crime a lot,” said Francis Renaud, the head of Montreal police’s organized crime unit. “So that’s pretty interesting to see that we hit the organized crime, Italian, in this area. Usually we hear a lot about Saint-Leonard, but not in LaSalle. So those people that were arrested today were pretty popular in LaSalle, very well known, but was passing under the radar for a few years.”
Montreal police say the operation was part of an ongoing investigation that began in 2023. It led to major seizures in January and May 2024, including 32 kilograms of cocaine, over $2.2 million in cash, four kilograms of crystal methamphetamine, and 12 firearms.
Authorities say Wednesday’s arrests were based on evidence gathered in those earlier phases of the investigation. Renaud says a lot of work was done behind the scenes to authorize charges ahead of the latest raids.
“All the techniques that we use were the biggest techniques that we can put on: wiretaps; we put a video camera inside the stash house; we used surveillance team that was there night after those guys,” he said. “So we managed to monitor those guys, and the investigator team that was working on that case, well they worked days and nights for two years nonstop. So I’m giving them a shoutout for that.”
–With files from La Presse Canadienne
