Investigation Cendrier: Several arrests for trafficking illegal tobacco

RCMP officers from the Valleyfield Detachment issued arrest warrants for several individuals as part of Project Cendrier on December 12, 2017. A total of 16 individuals from Quebec, Ontario and the United States were targeted by Tuesday’s operation. This strike dismantles a contraband tobacco network which operated primarily from the Akwesasne territory in New York State to the Kahnawake territory in Montérégie, via the Saint-François Lake waterway. Over 150 deliveries by boat were identified during the investigation.

Arrest warrants were issued for the following individuals:

In Quebec:

Frédéric Bordeleau-Beaupré, 21 yrs., from Rigaud

Simon Chevarie-Dudemaine, 32 yrs., from Boisbriand

Garett R. Cree, 39 yrs., from Kahnawake

Blaise Jaime Flores, 25 yrs., incarcerated in Bordeaux prison

Edward Lee Lachance, 29 yrs., from Montréal

Benoit Lamoureux, 36 yrs., from St-Bruno-de-Montarville

Julien Lavoie, 25 yrs., from Saint-Eustache

Wendy Mayo, 61 yrs., from Kahnawake

Carlos Nelson, 43 yrs., from Kanesatake

George Robertson, 48 yrs., from Kahnawake

Joseph Thompson, 31 yrs., from a halfway house in St-Alphonse-Rodriguez

Gaétan Joseph Tremblay, 54 yrs., from Akwesasne

In New York State:

Kenneth J. Cree, 41 yrs., from Hogansburg

Lawrence P. Jock, 24 yrs., from Hogansburg

John Lewis White, 45 yrs., from Hogansburg

In Ontario:

Daniel Macdonald, 24 yrs., from Lancaster

The accused individuals were scheduled to appear at the Salaberry-de-Valleyfield courthouse on Tuesday. They faced several criminal charges, including possession of unstamped tobacco products under the Excise Act, 2001 and the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.

Officers from the RCMP Detachment in Cornwall, the Ontario Provincial Police and the Akwesasne Mohawk Police Service assisted with the operation. The RCMP was also assisted by the Sûreté du Québec and its partner police officers from the cities of Montréal, St-Eustache, Longueuil and Thérèse-De Blainville.

Project Cendrier – Investigation project Cendrier targets individuals involved in contraband tobacco, the large-scale production and trafficking of cannabis, and the trafficking of cocaine in the Valleyfield region. Since the first wave of arrests on December 8, 2016, Cendrier resulted in the arrest of over thirty individuals involved in various smuggling activities. Over 230 kilograms of cocaine destined for the Montreal market were seized and nearly $320,000.