Motel St-Jacques raided: Montreal police call it a hotbed for sex work, drugs and violence
Residents of Montreal's Motel St-Jacques have been given a week and a half to leave following a major police raid Thursday.
Montreal police say for years, the hotel was a hotbed for sex work, drugs and violence.
"We were in there for two hours, and in one room there were four people who were completely out of it," said Montreal police commander Stephane Desroches.
The raid caught residents by surprise.
"They turned around, saw me in my window and started telling us to come out," said resident Angela Michelle."They handcuffed me."
Police arrested the motel's owner on drug allegations.
Investigators say the location is well known to police, and in the last year alone, there have been three deadly fentanyl overdoses.
Motel St-Jacques in Notre-Dame-de-Grace (CTV News/Kelly Greig)Desroches said about 10 women are sex workers there.
Motels can be safer for sex workers because there are other people nearby, said Sandra Wesley, who works with advocacy group Stella.
Wesley called this a warning to hotel owners.
"If you're not reporting sex workers, we'll assume you're tolerating it, and you're benefitting from it, and [police] might come after you. Up until now, that hadn't happened; no motel operators had been arrested," she said. "Up until Motel St-Jacques. I think part of this and part of why it's so huge as an operation and so public is because the SPVM wants to send a threatening message."
Those living there now have a week and a half to leave permanently as the building has been turned over to the courts.
"We have to offer support to people in this situation," said Desroches.
Since Thursday, organizations like the local health board have been going door to door to offer services.
Some of the residents say the bust means they'll likely end up homeless.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
From essential goods to common stocking stuffers, Trudeau offering Canadians temporary tax relief
Canadians will soon receive a temporary tax break on several items, along with a one-time $250 rebate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Thursday.
No evidence linking Modi to criminal activity in Canada: national security adviser
A senior official says the Canadian government is not aware of any evidence linking Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to alleged criminal activity perpetrated by Indian agents on Canadian soil.
Trump chooses Pam Bondi for attorney general pick after Gaetz withdraws
U.S. president-elect Donald Trump on Thursday named Pam Bondi, the former attorney general of Florida, to be U.S. attorney general just hours after his other choice, Matt Gaetz, withdrew his name from consideration.
Second Australian teen dies in tainted alcohol case in Laos that has killed 6 tourists
A second Australian teenager who fell critically ill after drinking tainted alcohol in Laos has died in a hospital in Bangkok, her family said Friday, bringing the death toll in the mass poisoning of foreign tourists to six.
A one-of-a-kind Royal Canadian Mint coin sells for more than $1.5M
A rare one-of-a-kind pure gold coin from the Royal Canadian Mint has sold for more than $1.5 million. The 99.99 per cent pure gold coin, named 'The Dance Screen (The Scream Too),' weighs a whopping 10 kilograms and surpassed the previous record for a coin offered at an auction in Canada.
Canoeist is paddling the 9,650-kilometre Great Loop out of gratitude for life
Peter Frank has paddled from Michigan's Upper Peninsula in June to the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland this month in his 1982 Sawyer Loon decked canoe, but he’s still got a long way to go.
More than 70K Murphy beds recalled across Canada, U.S. over tipping concerns
A popular series of Murphy beds that had been sold online is under a recall in Canada and the U.S. after several reported instances of the furniture detaching from walls.
She thought her children just had a cough or fever. A mother shares sons' experience with walking pneumonia
A mother shares with CTVNews.ca her family's health scare as medical experts say cases of the disease and other respiratory illnesses have surged, filling up emergency departments nationwide.
Meta fights CRTC, refuses to publicly release info on news blocking measures
Meta is refusing to publicly disclose information that could determine whether it is subject to the Online News Act despite blocking news from its platforms.