10 people arrested in connection with drug trafficking in Montreal, South Shore (2024)

Several people arrested in a major investigation by the Sûreté du Québec into the illegal online sales of cannabis were scheduled to make their first court appearance at the Montreal courthouse on Friday.

The SQ said in a statement that the investigation led to the arrests of 10 people on Dec. 19 and seizures of properties and bank accounts worth more than $7 million, as well as more than $500,000 in cash.

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Included among those arrested last month was Normand Evrard, 65, a well-known criminal who was part of a group of men, including his brother Joseph, who tried to break into an armoured car at a shopping centre in Dorval using welding torches on March 22, 2001 during a heavy snowstorm. The robbers had to abandon their plans when their torches set fire to cash inside the car. The Evrard brothers were already notorious robbers when they were arrested in the failed heist, and Normand ended up pleading guilty to attempted robbery and possession of a firearm.

In the current case, Normand Evrard will be charged with two counts of drug trafficking in Pointe-Claire on June 16, 2021 and possession of cannabis with the intent to distribute it. Evrard has yet to be assigned a date for his first court appearance.

Three men alleged to be the leaders of the ring — Antonino Salvo, 63, David Keith Bishop, 53, and Jonathane Séguin, 46 — are among seven people who were scheduled to appear at the Montreal courthouse on Friday. One charge listed on an arrest warrant alleges they sold cannabis between Oct. 18, 2018 and June 16, 2021. They are also charged with laundering the proceeds of crime.

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Séguin is also charged with growing and harvesting cannabis in St-Lazare at a location that is not his home.

Other people named in the warrant face charges including distribution and possession of cannabis, sale of cannabis, production, possession of property obtained by crime and trafficking in substances.

Two people named on the warrant are charged with being in possession of counterfeit documents in Montreal on June 16, 2021. According to La Presse, a building on Jarry St. E. in St-Léonard was an important part of the investigation and is believed to have been where suspects were able to obtain fake pieces of identification.

La Presse also quoted SQ officers who said the people who grew cannabis for the group were “operating under the cover of registration certificates for medical purposes from Health Canada.” The SQ identified 40 certificates during their investigation. Investigators also managed to obtain two certificates from Health Canada, which would have allowed them to produce 133 grams of cannabis per day.

Searches carried out in June 2021 led to the seizures of 3,000 cannabis plants; 150 kilograms of cannabis in several forms; nine kilograms of hashish; cocaine; and nearly 33 kilograms of psilocybin, a.k.a. magic mushrooms.

pcherry@postmedia.com

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