Police arrest 13 people for homemade firearms

The Integrated Arms Trafficking Team (EILTA) Montreal arrested 13 people in several Quebec cities for trafficking and artisanal manufacturing of firearms on June 12 and 13.

The arrests were made in Montreal, Berthierville, New Carlisle, Repentigny, Gatineau, Quebec and Saint-Calixte.

According to the press release issued by theEILTAJoël Hector, 39, and David Duvall, 34, both from Montreal, remain detained for appearance.

The other suspects, 8 men, aged 26 to 63, and 3 women, aged 33 to 35, were released pending further proceedings. They could face several charges, including unauthorized possession of a firearm, possession for the purpose of trafficking weapons and manufacturing a firearm.

Since the start of this investigation in 2023, around twenty Canadian police forces have seized 440 firearms, including:

• 62 handguns;
• 71 3D printed handguns;
• 2 3D printed long weapons;
• 1 submachine gun;
• 52 3D printers;
• 32 3D printed chargers;
• 87 silencers, including 63 3D printed.

L’EILTA is made up of members of the Sûreté du Québec, the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Canada Border Services Agency.

The work of this team is part of the CENTAURE strategy, whose mandate is to ensure constant pressure on organized crime and, thus, actively fight against armed violence in Quebec.