The Quebec City Police Department (SPVQ) proceeded with the extradition of Dave “Pic” Turmel’s right-hand man from Portugal on Thursday.
Roobens Denis, 31, was arrested in a Lisbon hotel where he was hiding last February. He is back on Quebec soil after being brought back by law enforcement on board a flight that landed Thursday afternoon at Montreal-Trudeau International Airport.
Courtesy photo
He will then make his way to the Limoilou police station to be met by SPVQ investigators. According to our information, he should appear at the Quebec courthouse on Friday.
Photo Pierre-Paul Poulin
The Portuguese authorities handcuffed him at the request of the SPVQ and the Sûreté du Québec last winter. Extradition procedures were then immediately initiated to bring him to justice in Canada.
Long processus
The Quebec City police force had then explained that this process could take “a week, a month, or even a year.” It ultimately took nearly four months to complete this objective.
This photo showing Dave Turmel (right) with Roobens Denis was released by Quebec police while they were looking for the two men in July 2023.
Photo provided by the SPVQ
“It’s a tedious process and it’s still a very reasonable time frame to succeed in bringing someone like Roobens Denis back to Quebec,” says SPVQ spokesperson Pierre-Olivier Lévesque, specifying that it was investigators from the MALSAIN project who went to look for the suspect in the Portuguese capital.
New charges
New charges will be filed against Dave “Pic” Turmel’s close associate when he appears in court on Friday.
Photo provided by the SPVQ
In addition to the charges for drug trafficking and conspiracy to commit drug trafficking for which he was arrested, charges related to firearms will add to his case.
Turmel still on the run
The head of the BFM, Dave “Pic” Turmel, is still on the run, confirms agent Lévesque. The SPVQ is not able to reveal whether he is still hiding in Europe.
As was the case for Denis before his arrest, the 27-year-old thug is the subject of an arrest warrant for drug trafficking and conspiracy to commit drug trafficking.
In July 2023, Turmel and his accomplice managed to slip through the cracks of a major operation led by the SPVQ’s MALSAIN project.
“To this, today we add charges of assault with injury and assault with a weapon against Dave Turmel,” concludes the spokesperson for the municipal police force.
– With the collaboration of Félix Séguin, Investigation Office
Who is Roobens Denis?
- Born July 1, 1992 (31 years old), originally from Lévis
- Right-hand man of the boss Dave “Pic” Turmel, head of the Blood Family Mafia (BFM)
- Was the subject of an arrest warrant for drug trafficking and conspiracy to commit drug trafficking
- Arrested in a Lisbon hotel where he was hiding in February 2024, at the request of the SPVQ and the Sûreté du Québec
- Repatriated to Canada on Thursday, after nearly four months of extradition procedures
- Has already had run-ins with the law for possession of a prohibited firearm, kidnapping, assault and possession of drugs
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