A 35-year-old man from Laval who was considered one of Canada’s most wanted criminals has been arrested in Mexico to face charges of pimping and sexual offences.
Blake Charbonneau had been on a Canada-wide “be on the lookout” (BOLO) list of most wanted fugitives since 2020 and a $50,000 reward was offered to anyone providing information leading to his location.
Charbonneau was arrested by Mexican authorities late last week and was flown to Toronto, where he was transferred into the custody of the the Sûreté du Québec.
He will be appearing in Quebec court to face charges that include sexual assault, sexual assault with a weapon and pimping.
The BOLO program which facilitated the arrest of Charbonneau is a private initiative overseen by a foundation which was started by Stéphan Crétier, the founder, chairman and CEO of Montreal-based GardaWorld Security, one of the five largest security service providers in the world.
Since the BOLO program’s launch in 2018, the following Canadian police forces and Crime Stoppers programs have cooperated:
- Sûreté du Québec
- Service de police de l’agglomération de Longueuil (SPAL)
- Sun Youth
- Toronto Police Service (TPS)
- Toronto Crime Stoppers
- York Regional Police (YRP)
- Windsor Police Service
- Windsor & Essex County Crime Stoppers
- Ontario Provincial Police (OPP)
- Crime Stoppers Guelph Wellington
- Calgary Police Service (CPS)
- Calgary Crime Stoppers Association
- Edmonton Police Service (EPS)
- Crime Stoppers Association of Edmonton and Northern Alberta
- Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit – British Columbia (CFSEU-BC)
- Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT)
- Royal Canadian Mounted Police – Federal Serious and Organized Crime (FSOC), British Columbia
- Royal Canadian Mounted Police – Mission Detachment (Mission RCMP)
- Royal Canadian Mounted Police – Surrey Detachment (Surrey RCMP)
- Royal Canadian Mounted Police – Coquitlam Detachment (Coquitlam RCMP)
- Metro Vancouver Crime Stoppers
