Outaouais man charged in bust of alleged biker drug ring
Quebec police arrested 63 people from 20 municipalities in Quebec and New Brunswick on Tuesday in connection with a drug ring allegedly controlled by the Hells Angels.
The operation, dubbed Project Objection, “dismantled three of the biggest drug-trafficking networks in Quebec,” said Insp. Guy Lapointe, a Sûreté du Québec spokesman. “They were controlled by three chapters of the Hells Angels: Montreal, South and Trois-Rivières.”
Lapointe said a total of 79 people are facing charges in the drug bust led by the SQ’s organized crime squad. He said 16 remaining people not arrested Tuesday have been spoken to by police by phone, or are fugitives.
Police seized 21 kilograms of cocaine, more than $2 million, bulletproof vests and 34 firearms.
The operation also brought Quebec police near the border with Ontario, a province in which the Hells Angels have tentacles, Lapointe said.
Ensnared in the bust was Michel (Sky) Langlois, 71, a founding member of the Hells Angels’ Montreal chapter, who is alleged to have run a drug-trafficking network in the Outaouais. Lapointe said Langlois owns a maple syrup farm in the Outaouais region, which is where he was arrested Tuesday.
Langlois is charged with committing a crime for the profit of a criminal organization (or gangsterism), and charges related to trafficking in cocaine, marijuana and methamphetamine.
At a news conference Tuesday, Lapointe emphasized that the Hells Angels maintain a drug-distribution monopoly by instilling a regime of fear and “wouldn’t hesitate to use violence to enforce their message.”
Another man, Louis Matte, 52, was charged with trafficking cocaine and methamphetamine. Lapointe said Matte is alleged to have trafficked drugs in Eastern Ontario.
Police also raided the Hells Angels’ South Chapter clubhouse for the first time in nearly a decade.
“This isn’t an investigation solely done by the Sûreté du Québec,” Lapointe said.
“Our model here is really partnership. Many police forces are involved and that’s what makes our recipe something that works against organized crime.”