OPERATION LOQUACE ARMS TRAFFICKER (linked to west end gang) PLEADS GUILTY DANIEL RENAUD LA PRESSE Shane Kenneth Maloney, accused of controlling an arsenal that led to the largest seizure of weapons and explosives in Canadian history, pleaded guilty yesterday to charges of gangsterism, cocaine trafficking, Weapons. The prosecution and the defense agreed on an overall sentence of approximately 10 years. However, by deducting pre-trial detention, he would have four and a half years to serve.
But the punishment is not yet sealed. Judge Sophie Bourque of the Superior Court will have to ratify or not this joint suggestion on March 15 next.
TREASON Maloney was arrested on November 1 , 2012 in an operation of the SQ, called Loquace, to dismantle a consortium of six people from various organized crime sectors who allegedly attempted to seize the monopoly The distribution of cocaine in Canada.
In this resounding investigation, the task of the police officers was greatly facilitated by the right arm of one of the members of the consortium who became an undercover officer for the police and who transmitted to him the messages that the suspects exchanged on their apparatus PGP, and narcotics and money photos.
In less than six months, the officer trafficked 530 kg of cocaine and cashed nearly 14 million. In all, 132 individuals were charged in the wake of Operation Loquace.
According to a summary of facts read by the prosecutor M e Philippe Vallieres-Roland, the investigators were able to link Maloney to a seizure of 25 kg of cocaine.
HISTORICAL ENTRY However, Maloney's involvement is most evident in the Loquace investigation.
On October 3 and 4, 2012, investigators discovered an unprecedented amount of weapons, over 1,000 dynamite sticks, explosives and detonators in two warehouses in Laval and Montreal. In Laval, on Chomedey Street, the police observed Maloney during the investigation. When they searched her condo in L'Île-des-Sœurs on the day of the police strike, they discovered documents to link it to these warehouses. According to information that came from the evidence, the dynamite sticks found come from a bold armed robbery committed at the premises of a blasting company in Sainte-Sophie, in the Laurentians, in August 2011.
When Maloney was arrested, the police seized 1.5 million while his condo and a farm in Ontario were blocked. Much of the money and the farm will be confiscated for the benefit of the Attorney General while the condo will be handed over to the future convict.
In determining the sentence, the prosecution and defense, provided by M e Dominique Shoofey, were particularly given the harsh conditions of Maloney, who is paraplegic and suffering from severe back pain since a motorcycle accident has Rendered invalid some fifteen years ago.
Maloney relinquishes a motion to stay the judicial process under the Jordan Judgment he made and undertakes not to withdraw his conviction if co-accused succeed in similar motions filed by them .
The other presumed leaders of the consortium, Larry Amero (Hells Angels), Mihale Leventis and Rabi Alkhalil, are expected to have their trial in Loquace respectively in July 2017, September 2017 and January 2018.
In the box, Maloney, who was wearing very short hair and a beard for a few days, answered politely to the judge's questions and looked at a couple of policemen sitting in the room.
