MONTREAL - A former Canadian Olympic weightlifter and a jailed biker gang member were among 41 people arraigned on Friday following a sweeping police crackdown on alleged drug traffickers.
Police in Quebec and Ontario have described Operation Axe as a major blow against the drug-trafficking operations of the Hells Angels and one of their affiliated street gangs.
Those arrested include Jean Lavertue, 34, who competed at the Olympics in Atlanta in 1996.
Lavertue, who operated a Montreal gym, was arraigned by video conference in Montreal on charges of drug trafficking and gangsterism.
Another person charged was Gregory Wooley, a close confidant of Hells Angels kingpin Maurice (Mom) Boucher.
Wooley, who was arrested Thursday while already in prison in Kingston, Ont., was charged with gangsterism.
The Crown said Wooley is the first person in Canada to be charged twice with gangsterism.
Gangsterism convictions bring sentences that are served consecutively.
Police also arrested Fernand Lauzon, 67, a man identified as the father of a Montreal police officer. Lauzon was charged with drug trafficking.
One by one, the accused shuffled into sight of Quebec court Judge Michel Bellehumeur via video conference from a Montreal police operational centre in the city's north end.
The Crown said 18 people were granted bail under very strict conditions that included a large cash deposit, strict curfews, and restricted use of pagers and cell phones expect for work.
But the majority were detained pending future bail hearings.
Prosecutor Francis Cloutier said 17 of the 41 face gangsterism charges.
"Principally, the charges are trafficking for the profit of a criminal organization -- trafficking of drugs," Cloutier said.
Two people are also charged with conspiracy to commit murder, but only one of them has been arrested.
Police said Thursday that 47 people had been nabbed but the Crown said Friday at least of those were still believed to be at large.
Three prosecutors are working on the case, Cloutier said.
About 700 officers took part in Operation Axe, which Montreal police said was one of the biggest ever carried out by the city force. Some 500 Montreal cops were helped by 200 officers from the RCMP, Quebec provincial police and several other cities, including Ottawa.
The raids netted $600,000 in cash as well as 25 guns and a number of bullet-proof vests. Significant quantities of cocaine, crack, ecstasy, marijuana and hashish were seized along with other drugs including speed, Viagra and steroids.
