On Nov. 19, 2015, Montreal was the stage of several police raids targeting criminal organizations. According to a report by the National Post, high profile members of the Hells Angels, the Mafia, and other criminal organizations were arrested.
In total, police issued 48 arrests, through several raids, throughout Montreal. In addition to the arrests, police seized drugs, money, and a Harley Davidson motorcycle. The arrests were in connection to allegations that the criminal organizations were cooperating to take control of the Montreal drug market.
Arrests included Maruice Boucher—incarcerated leader of the Hells Angels—and Leonardo Rizutto—son of former mob boss Vito Rizutto, who was the former head of the Rizutto crime family which has deep ties to the mob in Montreal. Another notable arrest was that of Loris Cavalière—a high profile lawyer based out of Montreal who has ties to the Rizutto family. Montreal Police consider Cavalière a facilitator between the mob and other organized crime syndicates.
These arrests were the outcome of operations that began in January 2013. The operations were named Mastiff and Magot.
The arrests reveal some shocking details regarding organized crime in Canada, however. The fact that these organizations had ties together to control the drug market is surprising, considering that the Hells Angels and the Mafia are two of the largest criminal organizations operating in Canada. This could be seen as the beginning of a trend for other crime organizations in Canada that are looking to join forces to take control of black markets.
The operation conducted on Nov. 19, 2015 was not the first time that Canadian police have launched raids on organized crime. In June 2015, the York Regional Police carried out similar raids on two Canadian Mafia cells, which resulted in the arrests of 19 men in relation to the mob ties in Canada.
Although Canada seems relatively free of organized crime, there were a staggering 672 organized crime groups reported to exist in 2013. These estimates were released by Criminal Intelligence Services of Canada.
Criminal organizations are usually located in metropolitan areas, like Toronto and Montreal. In 2012, the Toronto Star reported that Ontario has become “an international ‘penal colony’ for alleged Italian Mafia figures…”
Smaller cities, like Guelph are not at immediate susceptibility of being subject to criminal organizations.
The raids in Montreal are a step forward for Canadian police attempting to eliminate the root cause of organized crime, but it is yet to be seen if this will have any effect on organized crime as a whole within the country.