Chelsey St. Pierre – The Suburban LJI Reporter

Montreal Police (SPVM) and Quebec provincial police (SQ) carried out six searches linked to organized crime in the cities of Laval, Mirabel, Rosemère and Notre-Dame-de-l ‘Île-Perrot on Wednesday to gather evidence. Five searches related to the same investigation were carried earlier this week in Vaudreuil–Dorion as well as in the Montreal boroughs of Anjou, Lachine and Montréal-Nord.

The police forces joined in the investigation with the objective of solving several murders linked to organized crime which occurred in the Greater Montreal Area (GMA) dating from the mid 1990s until the present. Authorities confirmed that individuals associated with the Italian Mafia and the Hells Angels as well as other street gangs are targeted by the investigation.

Three murder victims who were targeted by mistake in connection to organized crime were identified by authorities working to solve their cases:

– Ms. Lida Phon, 32, who was murdered in a residence on Brunel Street, in Laval, in August 2012;

– Mr. Domenico Facchini, 37, who was shot dead in a café on Boulevard Provencher, in Saint-Léonard, in December 2012;

– Mr. Nicolas Lavoie-Cloutier, 18, killed near Montée Major, in Terrebonne, in June 2018.

The joint investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to communicate anonymously and confidentially with Info-Crime Montréal at 514 393-1133 or with the SQ Criminal Information Centre at 1-800-659-4264.