In December, the SPVM, in collaboration with the Régie intermunicipale de police Richelieu–Saint-Laurent and the Équipe nationale de soutien à l’application de la Loi sur les armes à feu (ENSALA) at the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, arrested an arms dealer in the Montréal suburbs. In total, 89 firearms were seized along with several loaders and ammunition, pellet and air guns and even some banned crossbows.
The accused and his wife were arrested at their home in Varennes. The weapons seized were hidden in a fortified cellar behind a bookshelf in the basement. A sum of $31,000 in cash was also found at the home.
This large-scale operation was made possible as a result of the close collaboration between several SPVM units, including the Organized Crime Section, the Star team (Sector for processing recovered firearms) and the neighbourhood police stations 48 (Mercier-Hochelaga-Maisonneuve) and 49 (Montréal-East, Pointe-aux-Trembles).