Saint-Jérôme, Wednesday, December 12, 2007 – Today, officers of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Laurentides-Lanaudière-Outaouais Detachment should arrest 28 individuals charged with various drug and other substance- related offences, including importation, trafficking, production and conspiracy.
More than 75 RCMP officers, assisted by officers of the Sûreté du Québec as well as Sainte-Adèle, Saint-Jérôme, Rivière-du-Nord, Blainville, Mirabel, Thérèse-de-Blainville, Terrebonne and Laval Municipal Police Departments, are participating in the arrests as part of Project Channel launched in May 2006.
Project Channel’s primary focus was to uncover and dismantle a clandestine ecstasy lab. However, this operation also resulted in the identification of André Chartrand, a 35-year-old Prévost resident, as the linchpin in several drug transactions.
André Chartrand allegedly associated with the individuals arrested this morning for the purpose of committing these illegal transactions. The individuals are believed to be part of separate criminal organizations. André Chartrand acted as the mastermind behind the operations.
The accused are:
André Chartrand, 35, Prévost
Maryse Yelle, 36, Prévost
Francis Beaudet, 34, Sainte-Adèle
Stéphane Potvin, 48, Montréal
Jonathan Ranger, 28, Morin Heights
Mario Ouellette, 37, Piedmont
Alexandre Roy, 31, Terrebonne
Martin Lamarche, 33, Prévost
Michael Adub, 38, Saint-Jérôme
Jeremiah Ingram, 48, Long Sault, Ontario
Robert Du Tremble, 43, Val-des-Lacs
Patrick Païsse, 34, Saint-Jérôme
Jean-François Henley, 31, Sainte-Sophie
Sébastien Paquin, 31, Terrebonne
Giepantro Tibiero, 34, Blainville
Régis Alonso, 32, Laval
Alain Sarrieu, 41, Saint-Sauveur
Gilles Dorais, 56, Sainte-Adèle
Olaf Dorais, 27, Sainte-Adèle
Jonathan Thibodeau, 27, Sainte-Adèle
Richard Daigneault, 50, Blainville
Daniel Murphy, 48, Sainte-Adèle
Richard Labelle, 54, Sainte-Anne-des-Lacs
Martin Béland, 41
Dany Goulet, 27, Sainte-Marguerite
Sophia Vézina, 34, Saint-Jérôme
Benoit Serre, 43, Saint-Jérôme
Robert Chartrand, 66, Prévost
Étienne Matuszewski, 22 (charged in the United States)
David Legault, 23 (charged in the United States)
Jean-François Trahan, 38 (charged in the United States)
Three arrests were made in the United States by the American authorities (United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Rouses Point, New York). Two of the accused have already pleaded guilty to charges of exporting cocaine to Canada.
Importation, production and trafficking
Each of the accused will face one or more of the following charges, as the case may be: conspiracy to import cocaine, importing cocaine, production of cannabis, possession of cannabis for the purpose of trafficking, production of and trafficking in ecstasy.
Cannabis, cocaine, ecstasy
Up to date in this investigation, the federal officers conducted a number of operations which resulted in the seizure of 1,000 cannabis plants in Clova, Northern Quebec, 22 kg of cocaine from the United States, 39 kg of marijuana, 240 cannabis plants and 50,000 ecstasy pills. Also, on June 22, 2007, the officers dismantled an ecstasy lab in Sainte-Adèle. In addition to several kilograms of methamphetamine and MDMA, they seized more than 100 kg of substances used to make ecstasy pills.
The arrested individuals will remain in custody until they appear in court in Saint-Jérôme at the latest on December 13, 2007.
As exemplified by Project Channel, by conducting intelligence-led investigations the RCMP is able to target structured criminal organizations no matter where they engage in their illicit activities.
(Click on photos to enlarge)
The photo shows cocaine concealed in a car hood, one of the methods used by the suspects.
The photo shows cocaine concealed under a car, another method used by the suspects.
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For information:
Corporal Luc Bessette
Communications Office
Montréal: 514-939-8308
