DRUG TRAFFICKING — OPERATION IN LANAUDIÈRE AND NUNAVIK

Trois-Rivières, January 19, 2023 - The Sûreté du Québec’s Contraband Investigation Service and the Integrated Nunavik Investigation Team, composed of investigators from the Sûreté du Québec and the Nunavik Police Service, conducted a drug trafficking operation today as part of the ACCESS-Cannabis program.

This morning, police arrested two men from Kuujjuaq, aged 29 and 41 respectively, for drug trafficking and possession for the purpose of trafficking. They could face charges under the Cannabis Act and the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. They were released and may appear at a later date for various offences.

This operation is aimed at breaking up a drug trafficking network operating in the Kuujjuaq area whose supply is believed to come from the Lanaudière region. About thirty police officers were mobilized, including a dog handler from the Sûreté du Québec. This is still an ongoing investigation and more arrests and searches may follow.

Five searches were conducted today in Saint-Gabriel-de-Brandon and Kuujjuaq. They focused on 3 residences, 1 extermination business, and 1 company truck. They resulted in the seizure of:
• 110 grams of cocaine;
• 3 lb of cannabis;
• 300 methamphetamine tablets;
• 10 grams of psilocybin;
• $21,050 in Canadian currency;
• bags and transport boxes (packages) for cocaine;
• 1 safe.
The ACCES Cannabis program (Concerted Action to Counter Underground Economies), coordinated by the Ministère de la Sécurité publique, is a government initiative implemented in 2018 designed to combat cannabis smuggling throughout Quebec at all stages of the supply chain, from illegal production to neighbourhood smuggling. Its objective is to promote the integrity of the Quebec tax system, reduce the accessibility of cannabis to young people, and redirect consumers to a legal and safe market.

The Sûreté du Québec would like to stress that any information on drug smuggling and trafficking can be reported at any time and in strict confidence to the Criminal Information Centre at 1-800-659-4264.
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Broadcasting and Media Relations Department
Sûreté du Québec
Mauricie-Lanaudière Region 819-379-7195
www.sq.gouv.qc.ca