The Leclerc Detention Centre in east-end Laval is one of six provincial jails throughout Quebec where nearly $1 million in prohibited items – including tobacco, cell phones and drugs – were seized by guards over the past few months, according to the Quebec Public Security Ministry.
Members of the correctional services recovered tobacco products, narcotics and cell phones with an estimated institutional value of $991,750, as well as mobile phone tools and accessories, in 16 major seizures, the ministry said.
In addition to Leclerc, the other detention establishments were in Amos, Hull, Québec City, Rimouski and Rivière-des-Prairies in Montreal.
The ministry said it should also be noted that anti-drone police operations that took place near the Montreal Detention Centre in Rivière-des-Prairies in January 2026 led to the arrest of five suspects by the Montreal Police.
“The teamwork carried out daily, combined with the use of hardware and technology in facilities across Quebec, makes it possible to prevent the delivery of packages by drones, to secure points of entry and to detect contraband,” the Public Security Ministry said in its statement.
According to the ministry, the majority of major seizures at the province’s jails result from the rapid retrieval of packages transported by drones before they enter the prison walls.
Contraband items are also regularly seized by prison staff during patrols, yard inspections, admission searches of inmates and general searches.
The ministry says a range of technological measures are being implemented to combat the delivery of contraband by drones and facilitate searches by prison officers, including a new generation of more advanced drone detectors and cell phone detection devices.
Since announcing major investments in October 2023, the Ministry of Public Security says it has deployed secure windows, body scanners and search stations to combat contraband in correctional facilities.
