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Nearly a dozen arrested in network of illegal alcohol trade in northern Quebec

​​The Sûreté du Québec (SQ) says between 2016 and 2020, the network purchased nearly 43,000 bottles of alcohol in Montreal and resold them for an estimated total of more than $8 million in Nunavik.

Suspects purchased alcohol in Montreal, shipped it to Nunavik to be resold at higher price

CBC News ·
In February 2020, the Kativik Regional Police Force seized more than $55,000 worth of illegal drugs and alcoholic beverages in connection to the network. A series of 14 searches that year resulted in the seizure of 180 bottles of spirits, over $118,000 and large amounts of narcotics. (Kativik Regional Police Force website)

​​Quebec provincial police say nearly a dozen people in the Montreal region and Nunavik are facing charges in connection with a network trafficking alcohol and drugs in 14 northern Quebec communities. 

The Sûreté du Québec (SQ) made the arrests Wednesday morning with help from the Kativik Regional Police Force through a project dubbed "Plutonium."

The investigation, which began in June 2019, found that individuals were buying alcohol in Montreal and then shipping it by mail to Nunavik to be resold illegally at a higher price — eight to 12 times higher than the original cost. 

Police say between 2016 and 2020, the network purchased nearly 43,000 bottles of alcohol and resold them for an estimated total of more than $8 million. 

The suspects are expected to face charges including fraud, receiving stolen goods, trafficking in prohibited substances, and conspiracy, among others.

The investigation was conducted with the collaboration of Revenu Québec, the SAQ and Canada Post inspectors. 

 

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