Cocaine shortage in Montreal

Cocaine would be rare in the greater Montreal area these days, La Presse learned from a variety of sources.

So much so that the price of a kilogram of cocaine not yet processed by traffickers, which was $ 42,000 a few months ago, would now be close to $ 55,000, an increase of more than 20%. A quarter of a gram of cocaine, however, would still sell for $ 20 on the street, suggesting that the drug is more "cut off" these days compared to periods when supply and demand are more stable.

According to some information, the shortage and price increase could be explained by the fact that the Hells Angels, who control a very large part of the market in Quebec, deliberately slow down the distribution of kilograms of cocaine in order to increase prices, and thus increase their profits.

But according to a police source, this shortage and rising costs could be attributed mainly to the dismantling last April of several biker-related cocaine and methamphetamine trafficking rings and the arrest of 70 individuals, including Hells Angels, as part of the Objection investigation conducted by the National Organized Crime Squad (ENRCO), headed by the Sûreté du Québec.

The police hurt the Hells Angels very badly. These were among their most important networks and the police dismantled them from the head up to the distributors. The bikers must completely rebuild their structures, which takes a while. In the weeks following Objection, the traffickers have sold their remaining quantities, but they may have less today, "said a police source who requested anonymity.

MAY BE 2000 KG LESS

It should also be noted that large quantities of cocaine that were likely to arrive in Quebec have been seized in recent months.

Last July, two Quebecers aboard a sailboat carrying more than 1500 kg of cocaine, valued at more than 100 million, were boarded by the French Navy off the island of St. Martin, in the Caribbean. Escorted by the authorities, the smugglers set fire to their boat - whose home port is in Gaspé - ostensibly for the purpose of removing the evidence, but the sailors managed to extinguish the fire, recover the drugs and arrest the suspects, who will be judged by the French courts.

Last December, another sailboat carrying 750 kg of cocaine worth 37 million was intercepted off the state of Maine. A Quebecker was arrested and the authorities believe that the drug was also destined for Quebec.

This is without counting other less important seizures conducted in recent months and the constant work of the various police forces against cocaine traffickers.