Officers from the Laval Police Department executed a search warrant on March 23 related to narcotics trafficking and as part of the LPD’s ongoing projet Doute operation and investigation.
Since last September, the LPD has been looking into the activities of a criminal ring believed to be actively delivering large quantities of narcotics on behalf of several organized crime organizations.
During the latest raid, the force made several arrests. Among those arrested were Carlos Paris, 38. Previously arrested as part of the same operation were Alain Arsenault, 43, Robert Lamontagne, 45, and Jeremy Autmizguine, 29.
All are now facing a variety of charges, including possession of narcotics for the purposes of trafficking, production of cannabis and illegal possession of a firearm.
Among the items the LPD seized during the operation were:
- Two cell phones;
- A vehicle used to commit a crime;
- More than $6,000 cash Canadian currency;
- Narcotics with an estimated total value of $2.5 million;
- And 51 kilos of cocaine.
The LPD says the operation necessitated the deployment of a significant number of its investigators, and the force worked in conjunction with the Montreal Police Department.
As well, special units were also called in, including tactical squad members, dogs and dog handlers, and crime scene technicians. The inquiry was also conducted in conjunction with the provincial government’s ACCES Cannabis program, a strategy put into place in the fall of 2018 by Quebec and overseen by the Ministry of Public Security to crack down on the production and distribution of unlicensed marijuana in order to keep it from undermining the legitimate cannabis market, while stopping it from being used by underage youths.
Laval is participating in inter-municipal fire safety campaign
The City of Laval says it is joining 13 other Quebec municipalities in supporting a Quebec Public Security Ministry video campaign aimed at encouraging fire prevention.
“Since prevention visits in schools and other places in the community can’t be done this year, this initiative by 14 municipalities became the most effective way to reach citizens in order to raise their awareness of good practices for evacuation during a fire,” says Laval city councillor for Concorde — Bois-de-Boulogne Sanda Desmeules, who handles public security issues on the executive-committee.
School fire safety
The first video, sponsored by the Blainville and Longueuil fire departments, was officially launched last week. Aimed at grade schoolers, it focuses on secure evacuation of schools during fires. The video also includes tips to make students, their parents, teachers and administrators more aware of evacuation methods.
The arrival of spring allows teachers to carry out evacuation exercises in order to remind students of the steps that should be followed in such situations.
It should be noted that over the coming year, several of the participating municipalities will be bringing forth additional short videos on fire prevention. Each will focus on a different setting and different circumstances, but always involving the prevention of fires.
