A former cabinet minister for the Quebec government was arrested on Friday night for soliciting a prostitute who was actually an undercover cop, according to reports.

According to La Presse, former family minister Tony Tomassi was arrested in a sting operation on Lajeunesse St. in Ahuntsic.

A total of six suspects were reportedly summoned to municipal court to face charges of solicitation of sexual favours as a result of the operation.

SPVM officials refused to identify any suspects but Francois Harrisson-Gaudreau, commander of the city's anti-violent crime Eclipse unit, confirmed an operation had taken place near a motel on Lajeunesse.

Harrisson-Gaudreau said an undercover female officer posed as a sex worker by walking alongside the sidewalk near the motel. The six suspects all approached the officer between dinner time and early evening and offered money for sexual services.

“Under Canada’s Criminal Code since 2014 we have an article saying it’s illegal to be obtaining sexual services for consideration," he said. "Basically, it’s illegal to solicit sex workers.”

Should the six suspects be found guilty, Harrison-Gaudreau said they could face fines of several thousand dollars and also serve several months in prison. 

Tomassi was elected to the National Assembly in 2003 as a member of the Liberal Party of Quebec. He was re-elected twice, representing the La Fontaine riding for nine years.

He was named family minister in 2008 as part of Jean Charest’s government but was dismissed from the party in May, 2010 after revelations he used a credit card from a security firm to pay for fuel at a gas station.

In Oct. 2011, he was charged with fraud and breach of trust. He resigned as an MNA on May 3, 2012. 

- With files from The Canadian Press