Provincial police have staged raids in several Quebec communities Tuesday aimed at taking down an illegal drug and alcohol bootlegging ring.
The project, called Plutonium, led to raids on seven homes and five vehicles in the Montreal area. Sgt. Claude Denis with the Sûreté du Québec says they aren't planning on making any arrests during Tuesday's raids, but intend to somewhere down the road.
"Suspects could face charges of fraud relating to uncollected GST and QST, money laundering, conspiracy, distribution and possession of cannabis and drug trafficking," Sgt. Denis says.
The Sûreté du Québec say they believe the booze was purchased in Montreal and resold in 13 communities in Quebec's far northern Nunavik region with a stiff markup. Their investigation shows that between 2016 and 2020, the suspects purchased more than 39,000 bottles of alcohol, mostly vodka, for a value of more than $900,000. They would be resold for eight to 12 times what they were initially worth.
Earlier this month, singer and Nunavik native Beatrice Deer used her Facebook page to speak about against the bootlegging problem in her community, suggesting it has led to increases in suicides, murders, sexual assaults and other incidents. She also suggested members of her own family had been complicit in the problem.
"I raise awareness in the presence of my enemies," she wrote in a Facebook post dates Feb. 8. "I know I have family members who bootleg/who have bootlegged in the past and they are well aware I am against it because I tell them directly."