Police crack down on illicit drugs in Montreal, with raids in South Shore, arrests in West Island
Police in Montreal performed several raids and arrested multiple people as part of an operation to crack down on the distribution of illicit drugs.
Longueuil police (SPAL) raided five locations in Saint-Hubert, Chambly, Carignan and Montreal early Tuesday morning, working to disband an alleged methamphetamine and cocaine drug ring on the island of Montreal and the South Shore.
"There have been no arrests so far, and none expected right now," police spokesperson Eric Courcy told CTV News.
He adds the sweeps are part of the second phase of a SPAL operation; police searched three other sites in June.
Courcy confirmed 75 officers from Longueuil police were involved in the drug busts.
Earlier this month, Montreal police (SPVM) confirmed it arrested three people in the West Island and seized $2.5 million-worth of synthetic drugs and opiates.
This was part of an operation targeting “a very active drug trafficking cell,” according to a news release by the force.
Two of the arrested suspects, Charles Laberge, 25, and Michael Eustache, 56, appeared at the Montreal courthouse and are facing various charges related to drug possession and trafficking.
Searches conducted in the borough of L'Île-Bizard-Sainte-Geneviève resulted in the seizure of 165,000 Xanax tablets, 29,000 methamphetamine tablets, 1 kg of metonitazene, as well as various quantities of cocaine, Ativan, Diazepam, amphetamines, isotonitazene, MDMA and crystal methamphetamine, police said.
In addition, officers found a .45 calibre pistol and $105,000 in cash at the scene.
Montreal police notes the seizure of metonitazene is a first in Quebec. It is a synthetic opiate first detected in Canada in 2020.
Courcy adds the raids occurred following information given to police by "the public" last March.
Montreal police also issued a warning stating drugs such as metonitazene and Xanax have a very high dependency rate and can lead to accidental overdoses.
The use of Xanax is of particular concern, the force says, “given its popularity among youth.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canada's most wanted fugitive arrested in P.E.I. in connection with Toronto homicide
A suspect in a fatal shooting in Toronto’s east end last summer has been arrested in Charlottetown, just one week after he topped a list of Canada’s most wanted fugitives.
BREAKING Federal employees will be required to spend 3 days a week in the office
Starting in September, public servants in the core public administration will be required to work in the office a minimum of three days a week. The Treasury Board Secretariat says executives will need to be in the office four days per week.
Concerns about plexiglass prompt inspections at some Loblaws locations in Ottawa
Inspections are underway at more than one Loblaws location in Ottawa after complaints were filed about tall plexiglass barriers.
OPP officer said 'someone's going to get hurt' before wrong-way Hwy. 401 crash
As multiple Durham police cruisers were chasing a robbery suspect on the wrong side of Highway 401 Monday night, an Ontario Provincial Police officer shared his concerns, telling a dispatcher, "Someone's going to get hurt."
Poilievre unrepentant over calling Trudeau 'wacko' as his MPs say Speaker should resign
An unrepentant Pierre Poilievre returned to the House of Commons on Wednesday to pepper the prime minister about his drug decriminalization policies after being booted the day prior for refusing to take back calling Justin Trudeau 'wacko' over his approach to the issue.
Five human skeletons, missing hands and feet, found outside house of Nazi leader Hermann Göring
Archeologists have unearthed the skeletons of five people, missing their hands and feet, at a former Nazi military base in Poland.
Toddler of Phoenix first responder dies after bounce house goes airborne
A two-year-old child died after a strong gust of wind sent the bounce house he was in airborne and into a neighbouring lot in central Arizona, the Pinal County Sheriff's Office said.
Plane overshoots runway at airport in St. John's, N.L., no injuries reported
Investigators from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada are headed to St. John's, N.L., after a plane overshot a runway at the city's airport this afternoon.
A teen was found buried in a basement in New York. An engraved ring helped police learn her identity two decades later
For more than two decades, the unknown victim was nicknamed "Midtown Jane Doe" because she was found in the Hell's Kitchen neighbourhood of New York City. But this week, investigators finally revealed her identity.