Montreal police arrest 7 suspects with alleged ties to Italian Mafia
Montreal police arrested seven people who are believed to have ties to an Italian organized crime clan on Wednesday morning.
Six men, ages 34 to 59, and a 44-year-old woman were arrested, said the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM).
The arrests, which mark the final phase of the Americano Project, were made in the boroughs of LaSalle and Verdun, as well as in Brossard.
"It's going to hurt traditional Italian organized crime in this area," Francis Renaud, head of the SPVM's organized crime unit, told reporters on Wednesday morning.
"We're used to seeing traditional Italian organized crime in the Saint-Léonard area … but in LaSalle, it's a well-hidden stronghold."
The suspects will appear at the Montreal courthouse by the end of the day.
Five of them are facing charges of committing an offence for the benefit of a criminal organization, drug trafficking and possession of substances for the purpose of trafficking, according to the SPVM.
Previous phases of the criminal investigation, which began in August 2023, led to the seizure in January and May 2024 of more than 32 kilograms of cocaine, over $2.2 million in cash, four kilograms of crystal methamphetamine, 12 firearms and several other items of evidence, said the police.
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