Quebec Provincial Police

Pointe-Claire woman among 13 arrested for firearm trafficking

Local Journalism Initiative / / / , ,

By Chelsey St-Pierre
The Suburban

Thirteen firearm trafficking suspects were arrested by the Quebec Provincial Police (SQ) on Thursday morning in the West Island and throughout the province.

More than 100 police officers and civilians were deployed to execute the arrests and conduct 16 searches early Thursday morning in Pointe-Claire, Longueuil, Boucherville, Saint-Hubert, Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Mercier, Saint-Roch-de-Richelieu, Saint-Marc-sur-Richelieu, Repentigny, Saint-Côme, Sainte-Émélie-de-l’Énergie, Fossambault-sur-le-Lac and Sainte-Catherine-de-la-Jacques-Cartier.

The suspects, ten men and three women, are Samantha Sarika-Singh, 40, from Pointe-Claire; François Plamondon, 38, from Fossambault-sur-le-Lac; Vincent Baril, 40, from Sainte-Catherine-de-la-Jacques-Cartier; Nicolas Gagné-Mercier, 23 years old from Gatineau; Omar Tissoudal, 21, from Mercier; Alexandre Ovalle, 41, from Carignan; Eddy-Félix Amador-Rojas, 37, from Longueuil; Yann-Michael Hervet, 53, from Saint-Marc-sur-Richelieu; Frédéric Vaillancourt, 52, from Sainte-Émélie-de-l’Énergie; Jason-Benoit Ialenti, 32, from Boucherville; Maxime Lajoie-Noreau, 35. from Saint-Roch-de-Richelieu; Maude L’Écuyer, 28, from Carignan and Marie-Ève Labonté, 43, from the borough of Saint-Hubert.

The suspects were arraigned by videoconference at the Quebec City courthouse on Thursday to answer to charges related to arms trafficking and/or drug trafficking.

The investigation leading up to these arrests was conducted by the Integrated Arms Trafficking Team (EILTA-Québec) and coordinated by the SQ. The operation began in October 2023.

According to authorities. the weapons, including twelve handguns that are most commonly used in violent firearm crimes, were mostly from the United States and were illegally imported into Quebec.

Authorities have not yet determined whether some of the weapons sold by this alleged firearm trafficking network were used. n

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West Island school zones on police radar

Local Journalism Initiative / / / , , ,

By Chelsey St-Pierre
The Suburban

Montreal Police (SPVM) and the Quebec Provincial Police (SQ) forces are calling for vigilance on the road in school zones as we enter the back to school period this fall.

The 2023 “back to school” operation, led by the SPVM, which ran from August 28 to September 22 last year, resulted in 6,246 tickets issued to road users in and around school zones while photo radar surveillance operations, also in school zones, recorded 1,675 infractions.

Lyne, a crosswalk volunteer in the off-island community of Ile-Perrot told The Suburban that despite the heavy police presence at the start of each school year, along with an abundance of speed signs, many drivers and pedestrians ignore traffic regulations. “It’s very disappointing and difficult for me to comprehend why people don’t understand the importance of these regulations,” she explained while speaking in French. “Many of those I see rushing or disregarding the signage are parents who are dropping their kids off at school or daycare.”

SPVM spokesperson Antony Dorelas confirmed to The Suburban that this year’s operations have already begun. “We don’t have the exact statistics at this time as the operation is currently underway. Our hope is that previous operations have sensitized the community and we will see a drop in last year’s numbers of traffic violations.”

In a public statement issued on August 22, the SQ wrote “The presence of school buses, pedestrians, cyclists and crossing guards will inevitably increase (the amount of) traffic on the road network. For prevention purposes, from August 26 to September 6, SQ police officers will intensify their interventions around schools. Road users are urged to be extra careful to ensure a safe return to school for all.”

The Suburban observed over twenty-five speeding infractions in less than fifteen-minutes last Monday morning on a city-installed roadside speedometer across the road from a daycare located between two schools in Ile-Perrot. n

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Vaudreuil man convicted of pornographic filming of wife and daughter

Local Journalism Initiative / / / , ,

By Chelsey St-Pierre
The Suburban

A 50-year old man who pled guilty and was convicted of production and possession of child pornography and voyeurism was sentenced to two and a half years in prison for secretly filming his daughter, her friends and his wife at their Vaudreuil-Dorion home.

A publication ban was placed on the name of the accused at the Salaberry-de-Valleyfield courthouse in order to protect the identity of the victims, with the youngest discovered on the seized footage being only nine years old at the time. The man, with no prior criminal record, was known as a respected and trusted family man and “the fun dad,” according to the testimony of one of the nine identified victims. “We could not imagine that meanwhile (appearing to be that person), you were installing cameras to see us going to the toilet, changing and taking our showers,” she stated to the court at sentencing.

The actions of the convicted man went on for six years. He filmed his wife unknowingly in their bedroom having sex and his daughter and her friends in the bathroom while appearing, according to the victims of his crimes, as a normal and even very likeable family man.

A USB stick originally discovered in the garage of the family unit by the man’s daughter and her friend last spring revealed this disturbing side of the “family man”.

The footage on the originally discovered USB stick revealed clips captured by hidden cameras in the bathrooms of the family unit between 2015 and 2021.

Quebec Provincial Police (SQ) arrested the defendant at his home shortly after the footage was discovered by the two girls. He remained detained until the trial and will serve out the remaining two years of his sentence.

The convicted man is banned from being in the presence of minors for 10 years following his release and will remain on the sex offender registry for 20 years. He is also banned from internet access or social media networks for 10 years.

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Three West Islanders arrested in major drug and firearm bust

Local Journalism Initiative / / / , , ,

By Chelsey St-Pierre
The Suburban

Three West Island suspects were arrested during a drug search last Thursday that took place in three residential homes located in Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Pointe-Claire and Vaudreuil-Dorion.

Montreal police (SPVM) seized 11 military-style weapons and 10,000 rounds of ammunition of different calibers along with large quantities of drugs during the search following a lengthy investigation targeting a drug trafficking network led by the West Narcotics Section of the SPVM. Supported by the Quebec Provincial Police (SQ) Tactical Intervention Group, officers arrested the three men aged 33, 43 and 48 while the search was underway at their residences.

The three alleged accomplices are suspected of having belonged to a network which allegedly sold large quantities of drugs every week. During the search of the three homes, police officers seized approximately 13,000 methamphetamine tablets, two kilos of cocaine, 380 grams of crack cocaine and various quantities of other narcotics.

The suspects are facing numerous charges related to drug trafficking and firearms offences.

Two of the accused will remain incarcerated until the next stage of legal proceedings. The third alleged trafficker was released after agreeing to comply with strict conditions.

The SPVM stated that investigation files involving firearms are always treated as a priority, with each seizure potentially preventing numerous violent crimes. n

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