A Laval resident who was sought by the RCMP in a cocaine trafficking investigation over the past three years led by the federal police force has been arrested in Mexico.
The RCMP’s Montreal branch confirmed on Monday that Adham Haouili, 43, the son-in-law of Montreal mob boss Raynald Desjardins, 72, was arrested in Mexico where he had been planning to meet his wife.
Haouili is facing charges in St-Jean-sur-Richelieu south of Montreal of conspiracy and drug trafficking along with four other suspects targeted in an investigation that was dubbed Project Camelot.
In Project Camelot, led by the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit (CFSEU) in collaboration with the Longueuil police service, “the five accused allegedly conspired to transport cocaine from the Toronto and Montreal regions to St. John’s, Newfoundland by seaplane,” the RCMP stated in an earlier press release related to the case.
Following police raids in conjunction with those accusations, an aircraft was seized, along with 10 kilograms of cocaine, three firearms and approximately $32,000 in cash. Among those arrested were Benoît David, 55, taken in by Interpol in Santiago Chile, and William Thomas Webber, 44, in Mississauga, Ont.
According to court records, David, like Haouili, is also a resident of Laval, but has yet to be extradited to Canada. The trial of one of the accused, Michael Duguay Halle, 42, of nearby Terrebonne, is scheduled to begin next September.
Fire damages Souvenir Road home
A fire caused damage to an unoccupied home on Souvenir Road in Chomedey on Friday, January 30 just after 12 noon.
The Association des Pompiers de Laval posted on its social media feed, “Building fire on Chemin du Souvenir in the Chomedey sector. Two-story residential building. Visible smoke. The code was 10-12, second alarm.”
According to the APL, a 9-1-1 call was placed at 11:54 a.m. and the Laval Fire Department arrived on the scene five minutes later. Smoke was visible and an evacuation of the premises was confirmed to have taken place by fire department personnel.
The fire is believed to have started in the basement of the house and spread throughout the building. Cold weather is said to have complicated the work of the 34 firefighters and 9 units that were on site trying to confine the flames to one area of the building.
The firefighters were able to bring the blaze under control nearly two hours after the operation had begun. Several other emergency responders, including the Laval Police and Urgences-Santé were also on hand. Investigators initially believe the probable cause was a mechanical or electrical malfunction.
CO leak forces evacuation at Place Montmorency
Nearly 1,000 occupants in 500 residential units at the Espace Montmorency campus in central Laval were evacuated from apartments on the morning of Saturday, January 31 following a carbon monoxide leak.
Firefighters from the Laval Fire Department, using CO detectors, found carbon monoxide concentrations reaching 60 ppm on several floors of towers No. 1 and No. 4, which was well above safe levels.
The maximum level of CO recommended by Health Canada is 10 ppm over a 24-hour period in a residential setting.
Other recent fires in Laval
JANUARY 29 | 1:52 AM // Building fire on 7th Street in the Chomedey sector. Residential building. Flames visible in the basement and spreading to upper floors. Code was 10-14, fourth alarm.
JANUARY 21 | 7:46 AM // Building fire on Jeanne-le Ber Street in the Duvernay sector. Residential building. Flames visible. Code was 10-07, intervention required.
