Mercedes stolen from car lot in Laval recovered in Toronto
Martin C. Barry, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
A Mercedes Benz reported as stolen in a spectacular vehicle theft incident at a Curé Labelle used car lot several weeks ago has been recovered by police in Toronto.
Working in conjunction with the Laval Police, the Ontario Provincial Police found the stolen Mercedes during the night of Feb. 15 to 16. According to car lot owner Marc Fournier, the OPP collared the thieves who were allegedly about to commit another theft at a Toronto business.
After recovering the car, the police reportedly had a good deal of cleaning to do on its interior as the suspects left behind a lot of trash, including merchandise with security locks and seals, but also ignition keys apparently for other stolen cars.
The car lot owner reported that the returned vehicle had 3,000 additional kilometres on its odometer. The windows had also been tinted and the engine oil had been changed.
TVA Nouvelles identified a suspect arrested in Toronto as Mohammed Qasim Chowdhury. He faces charges of car theft, possession of stolen property, armed assault and dangerous driving.
Speeding at 200km/h+ on the A-15 nets a $3,015 fine
A 23-year-old Laval man got slapped with a $3,015 fine recently after being stopped by SQ officers who recorded his speed on southbound Autoroute 15 as being 209 km/h – more than twice the posted limit.
According to the SQ, officers locked onto the driver around 1:30 a.m. on a weeknight and it took them a while to finally catch up in Montreal where he was pulled over along with a passenger.
An examination of the driver’s license found that it was no longer valid, resulting in immediate seizure of the vehicle for 30 days and a fine of $1,076. In addition, the ticket for exceeding the speed limit by more than 100 km/h came to $1,939. The driver then had 24 demerit points slapped onto his record.
SQ arrests Laval couple for alleged weapons and drug trafficking
A nearly three-year investigation by the Sûreté du Québec into a Laval couple’s alleged involvement in drug and weapons trafficking culminated recently when the provincial police force arrested the pair.
Officers with the Montreal Police (SPVM), the RCMP and the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) provided assistance to the SQ when they executed an arrest warrant issued for Maxime Gagene-Charet, 29, and Jenny Lachance-Valiquette, age 26.
The SQ recently announced that they were sending reinforcements to certain outlying regions of Quebec because of an upsurge of organized criminal activity there, including gang-related weapons and drug dealing.
Five suspects arrested for alleged telecoms pirating
The Sûreté du Québec arrested five suspects recently in conjunction with a suspected telecommunications theft operation, including the suspected leader who is a resident of Laval.
The alleged leader of the operation, Éric Grenier, is listed in the provincial business registry database as the administrator of a numbered company which owns Arubox.TV, one of the telecom businesses alleged to have pirated signals from Bell and other major telecom service providers.
According to the Montreal daily webnews site La Presse, Grenier, who has been active in the adult entertainment business in Quebec, was at one time a member of the Red Devils biker club, which is an affiliate of the Hells Angels.
Arubox.TV, and a second service known as Stocker IPTV, are alleged to have pirated television signals, according to a complaint filed by Bell Canada Enterprises, which is the lead complainant in a group of several telecom service providers who claim they were victimized.
Arubox.TV and Stocker IPTV were offering access to 3,500 TV channels in Quebec, Canada, the U.S.A. and around the world for a $250 fee for a decoder box, followed by a $25 per month charge.