8 facing charges, 2 wanted in Montreal police operation concerning cocaine trafficking
Posted October 22, 2025 8:46 am.
Last Updated October 22, 2025 6:44 pm.
About 50 officers from the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM), the Sûreté du Québec and the Saint-Jérôme police service carried out an operation Wednesday morning targeting a major cocaine trafficking network, which led to eight arrests.
According to Montreal Police (SPVM), the operation targets a network that regularly procures cocaine in the Toronto area and then resells it in Quebec.
“Our criminal investigation revealed that the network was using the Toronto-Montreal corridor to bring drugs into Quebec and then resell them at higher prices. Two members of the dismantled network allegedly played a central role in the supply, distribution, and coordination of trafficking activities,” said Commander Francis Renaud, Chief of the SPVM’s Organized Crime Section.
During the operation, police were able to take eight people — four men and four women — into custody in the Montreal boroughs of Sud-Ouest, Rivière-des-Prairies–Pointe-aux-Trembles, and Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, as well as in the cities of Brownsburg-Chatham, Saint-Jérôme, and Saint-Hyacinthe..
The investigation, which began last spring, is being led by the SPVM’s Organized Crime Section’s Anti-Gang Unit. The Sûreté du Québec and the Saint-Jérôme Police Service are also participating in the searches.
Back in April and May, police conducted several searches in connection with this investigation. During that time, they were able to find and seize 46.5 kg of cocaine, a gun, over $80,000 in cash, and other evidence.
SPVM says 41-year-old Karim Chabbi, 38-year-old Catherine Trudel-Primeau, 54-year-old Jean-François Roberte, 54-year-old Manon Primeau, 34-year-old Mathieu Bouchard, 43-year-old Jennifer Devries, 24-year-old Michele Francesco Manicone, and 42-year-old Julie Saint-Jacques-Lapointe are all facing charges and will be in court in Montreal on Wednesday afternoon.
Police note that two more people — 35-year-old Carlo Polcaro and 35-year-old Ilies Taibi — are still wanted in connection to this matter. If anyone has any information regarding their whereabouts, call 9-1-1, your local police station, or Info-Crime Montréal at 514-393-1133.
–With files from La Presse Canadienne, translated by CityNews
