Eastern Quebec | Gang war fueled by American weapons

(Quebec) While Donald Trump complains about the porosity of the Canadian-American border, police revealed Wednesday that the bloody war waged by gangs for drug control in the streets of Quebec was taking place with firearms. fire from the United States.

The Sûreté du Québec (SQ) indicates that since September, 126 firearms have been seized in connection with the “royalties conflict” which has already caused several deaths. This war was launched by David “Pic” Turmel’s gang, the Blood Family Mafia (BFM), which challenges the Hells Angels’ monopoly on the drug trade.

“Half of the weapons seized were imported illegally,” said the director of criminal investigations of the Sûreté du Québec (SQ), Michel Patenaude, on Wednesday at a press conference in Quebec.

Of these 126 firearms, 83 are handguns. “Almost all of the handguns seized come from the United States illegally,” said the chief inspector.

The SQ is able to establish the origin of these weapons thanks to the analysis of the Quebec Firearms Screening Center, set up in 2023 to counter this scourge. American representatives from Homeland Security Investigations and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are members of this joint squad.

Despite all these efforts, it is clear that networks continue to illegally import firearms across the Canadian-American border.

Should we be worried about the porosity of the border with our American neighbor? The office of Quebec Minister of Public Security, François Bonnardel, indicates that this issue “is an element that was recently discussed by [M. Bonnardel] when he convened American partners on border issues at the beginning of December in Montreal.

“We have confidence [dans les] police officers to continue their efforts in the fight against armed violence,” adds the firm.

More than 300 arrests

The SQ met with journalists to take stock of a vast “mop-up” operation which took place Wednesday in the Quebec region, on the North Shore, in Saguenay–Lac-Sant-Jean, and in Gaspésie.

Police made 35 arrests, all in connection with the war to control the drug trade.

In the evening, in Trois-Rivières, they notably apprehended René Boisvert, an aspiring member of the Hells Angels section of this town in Mauricie. According to our information, the biker could appear Thursday at the Trois-Rivières courthouse in connection with the storage of one or a few firearms.

Some arrests are linked to the events in Saint-Malachie. Last February, two men were kidnapped and tortured in a house in Chaudière-Appalaches. One of the kidnappers, linked to the BFM gang, was eventually killed by a captive.

Wednesday’s 35 arrests led to charges of kidnapping, forcible confinement, assault with a weapon, discharge of a firearm, arson and trafficking, police have arrested 320 people this year in connection with this gang war.

The police also intervened in six detention establishments on Wednesday. Around ten cell phones were seized and their contents will be analyzed.

With the collaboration of Daniel Renaud, The Press