Stolen cars allegedly used to commit crimes found during a trivial intervention

Traffic controllers who were carrying out a routine interception in Montérégie on Tuesday instead discovered stolen vehicles that had already been used to commit violent crimes in a semi-trailer en route to the port of Montreal.

The Ontario trucker was stopped early in the morning on Highway 20, in the Les Cèdres sector, for a simple check related to the registration of his carrier.

However, he presented the agents with shipping documents which did not clearly indicate what he was transporting, explained Jonathan Beauvais, spokesperson for Stratégie route Québec. The agents therefore wanted to open the cargo to check the merchandise.

It was at this time that they discovered two vehicles in the intermodal container, which had been reported stolen. This type of container is usually used for overseas transport. Moreover, the trucker was heading towards the port of Montreal, according to our information.

The stolen vehicles were allegedly used to commit violent crimes on the Ontario side, such as a home invasion and robbery, according to our sources. There were GPS chips on the cargo, which were presumably used to remotely track the cars.

The truck driver cooperated when he was arrested by traffic controllers. The Sûreté du Québec then took over the investigation. He was met by the police, then released pending the continuation of the investigation, confirmed spokesperson Laurie Avoine.

Stolen cars and contraband cigarettes

This is the fourth seizure of stolen vehicles in the last month alone in this region, reports Jean-Claude Daignault, president of the Brotherhood of Highway Control Constables of Quebec.

On the same day near Saint-Louis-de-Blandford, constables came across a heavy goods vehicle filled with packets of cigarettes, which were not labeled. Controllers from Centre-du-Québec intervened after observing that the truck seemed overloaded, with crushed tires.

This driver did not have a shipping document or a valid license to drive this type of heavy vehicle. In addition, his Ontario license was sanctioned due to unpaid fines in Quebec.

Remember that the road traffic controllers’ union has been demanding for years that agents be armed. The Brotherhood even went to court in a final attempt to force Quebec to equip them with a service weapon. A judgment is expected by the end of January.

Recommended service weapon

The judge who hears the case must determine whether the employer who reports to the SAAQ has taken the necessary measures to ensure the safety and physical well-being of workers and make recommendations if this is not the case.

During the hearings, the union called on expert Mario Berniqué, retired captain of the Sûreté du Québec, who recommends the service weapon as well as greater access to the Quebec Police Intelligence Center.

This police database would allow officers to know “who they are dealing with during their interventions.”