Major police operation underway across Quebec to dismantle firearm, drug trafficking network
Network impacting Montreal and Quebec City areas, police say
A large police operation is taking place across multiple regions of Quebec on Thursday to dismantle a firearms and drug trafficking network affecting the Montreal and Quebec City areas.
The operation is led by the Équipe intégrée de lutte au trafic d'armes (EILTA), a unit of the Sûreté du Québec (SQ), and involves a series of searches connected to organized crime and the trafficking of illegal firearms and narcotics.
More than 100 police officers and civilian personnel from the SQ and various municipal forces are conducting searches in the following areas:
- Pointe-Claire
- Longueuil
- Boucherville
- Saint-Hubert
- Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu
- Mercier
- Saint-Roch-de-Richelieu
- Saint-Marc-sur-Richelieu
- Repentigny
- Saint-Côme
- Sainte-Émilie-de-l'Énergie
- Fossambault-sur-le-Lac
- Sainte-Catherine-de-la-Jacques-Cartier
This operation follows an investigation launched in October 2023 and has already resulted in the arrest of 11 individuals involved in illegal firearms trafficking.
The EILTA searches are part of Quebec's CENTAURE strategy, which aims to "maintain constant pressure on organized crime and actively combat gun violence in Quebec."
Anyone with information on the possession, trafficking, use, or manufacturing of firearms can contact the CENTAURE information line at 1-833-888-ARME (2763).
