A 59-year-old man from Laval and three other suspects from Montreal and the North Shore are facing charges they conspired to import and produce cocaine using an ingenious scheme to try and deceive the Canada Border Services Agency.
In a statement issued by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police’s Federal Policing Eastern Region division, the force says an investigation by the Airport and Federal Investigations Detachment began in December 2022, after the CBSA intercepted a package from Colombia containing 39 cardboard boxes soaked in cocaine.
“Laboratory analysis revealed that each box contained approximately 29 grams of the illicit substance, for a total of almost 1.3 kg,” according to the RCMP.
During the investigation, police dismantled a clandestine laboratory in a commercial building in Laval, presumably used for cocaine extraction purposes.
Two other commercial buildings were also searched.
Investigators seized several electronic devices, laboratory equipment and notes on how to extract the cocaine from the cardboard.
The suspects were identified by the RCMP as:
- Jean Bergeron, 59, from Laval
- Jonathan Gallotta, 41, from Mirabel
- Laurent-Alexandre Riverin, 31, from Montreal
- and Aéala Bizien, 30, from Boisbriand
They are scheduled to appear on January 29 at the Palais de Justice de Laval.
The charges they face include cocaine importation, possession for the purpose of trafficking and conspiracy.
