Quebec police targets Asian organized crime network in cannabis trafficking raids

A Quebec Provincial Police (SQ) patrol car, photographed at the SQ headquarters in Montreal on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (Canadian Press/Christinne Muschi)

Quebec provincial police (SQ) is dismantling a cannabis trafficking network linked to Asian organized crime.

More than 130 officers, assisted by colleagues from Montreal police (SPVM) and Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), are carrying out over a dozen searches on Wednesday in the greater Montreal area, in Vaudreuil-Dorion, and in Markham, a suburb of Toronto.

SQ spokesperson Laurie Avoine said the ongoing investigation suggests fraudulent use of personal medical cannabis production certificates to give a veneer of legitimacy to the network’s criminal activities.

Cannabis exports from Canada, particularly to Europe, have been on the rise due to the drug’s lower price in Canada since legalization.

The SQ is expected to provide an update on the operation later Wednesday or Thursday once it has compiled the results of the seizures and any arrests.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Sept. 17, 2024.