A large police operation is underway in multiple regions across Quebec Thursday to dismantle a firearm and drug trafficking network impacting the Montreal and Quebec City areas.
The operation is being led by the Équipe intégrée de lutte au trafic d’armes (EILTA), a unit with the Sûreté du Québec (SQ), and includes a series of searches related to organized crime and the trafficking of illegal firearms and narcotics.
More than 100 police and civilian personnel from the SQ and various municipal forces are conducting searches in the following locations Thursday:
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Pointe-Claire.
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Longueuil.
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Boucherville.
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Saint-Hubert.
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Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu.
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Mercier.
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Saint-Roch-de-Richelieu.
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Saint-Marc-sur-Richelieu.
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Repentigny.
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Saint-Côme.
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Sainte-Émilie-de-l’Énergie.
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Fossambault-sur-le-Lac.
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Sainte-Catherine-de-la-Jacques-Cartier.
This operation, which stems from an investigation initiated in October 2023, has already led to the arrest of 11 people involved in an illegal firearms trafficking network.
These EILTA searches are part of Quebec’s CENTAURE strategy, which aims to “ensure constant pressure on organized crime and thus actively combat gun violence in Quebec.”
Anyone with information relating to the possession, trafficking, use and manufacturing of firearms can be reported to the CENTAURE information line at 1-833-888-ARME (2763).