Raids targeting Hells Angels yield dozens of arrests in Quebec

Quebec provincial police say they have arrested"influential" members of the Hells Angels and dismantled three of the biggest drug trafficking rings in the province.

The drug rings provided mainly cocaine and synthetic drugs to Quebec, Ontario and New Brunswick, and were controlled by theMontreal,Trois-Riviresand Southchapters of the Hells Angels, saidSret du Qubec Lt. Guy Lapointe.

Police say the Hells Angels have a near monopoly on the drug trade in Quebec, and they believe this operation will destabilize the organization.

"We hit them where it hurt, because it's the money that's going to stop coming in,"Lapointesaid.

The Crown said Tuesday night that 64 peopleappeared in court to face chargesranging fromillegal firearm possession todrug trafficking to fraud and abuse of trust.

Among those who appearedwas Carl Ranger, a 40-year-old member of the Repentigny police service.

The SQ believes he worked as a courier, delivering drugs for one of the rings. He is facing breach of confidence, illegal use of a computer and drug trafficking charges.

Police say they took a multi-pronged approach, going after the distribution rings as well as the people who provided those rings with drugs.

In all, the raids yielded:

• 34 firearms.
• 21 kilograms of cocaine seized.
• More than 200,000 methamphetamine pills seized.
• $2.5 million in cash.

There are still 11outstanding arrest warrantsfollowing this morning's operation.

Hundreds of police officers took part in the raids and made arrests in about 20 locations in the Outaouais, Saguenay and Lanaudire regions as well as in New Brunswick.

Members sought or arrested

Among those named in arrest warrants are:

• Daniel Giroux, who police say is a member of the Montreal chapter, allegedly controlsterritory on North Shore and in the Laurentians.
• Michel Langlois,who police believe is one of the founding members of the Quebec Hells Angels chapter and allegedlycontrols territory in the Outaouais.
• Stphane Maheu,who police say is amember of the South chapter, allegedlycontrolsGranby and Cowansville.
• Louis Matte,who police say is amember of theSouth chapter,allegedlycontrols territory in Ontario.
• Carmelo Sacco, who police say is not a member but allegedly oversaw the synthetic drug supply.

Langlois and Sacco were among those arrested this morning. Investigators are in touch with Giroux, who is currently in the Dominican Republic, and are looking for the other two, Lapointe said.

One of the searches took place at rablire Langlois in Saint-Andr-Avellin in the Outaouais, which is owned by Langlois, according to Radio-Canada.

Three of the group's bunkers, including what police believe is the South section'sbunker in Saint-Charles-sur-Richelieu, south of Montreal, were raided as part of the operation.

It was the first time since 2009 that a suspected Hells Angels bunker had been raided, Lapointe said.

• This chart, created by the SQ,shows how some of the peoplearrested Tuesday are allegedly connected

The operation wasled by a mixed squad that includes theSQ, RCMP, Montreal police, Quebec City police, Lvis policeand Laval police.

Tuesday's raids were connected to another series of searches carried out in January and February.

The SQ says this is the biggest operation targeting organized crime since Operation SharQc in 2009, when more than 150 people were arrested.