About 400 police officers across New Brunswick and Quebec carried out pre-dawn raids in 25 cities Wednesday as part of a massive sting targeting organized crime.
Roughly 32 people were arrested as officers from numerous police forces including the RCMP and Surete du Quebec, as well as local policing organizations, executed warrants in both provinces.
"During the course of the investigation police have seized large amounts of cocaine, cannabis marijuana, methamphetamine pills, and cash," stated a release from the New Brunswick RCMP.
In Quebec the raids were carried out in Montreal and the Monteregie region by officers in the Escouade regionale mixte (ERM).
In New Brunswick police carried out search warrants in Beresford, Tracadia-Sheila and Saint-Sauveur.
The searches Wednesday were part of an ongoing joint investigation between the New Brunswick RCMP and the Montreal office of ERM into "drug trafficking involving a Montreal chapter of the Hells Angels," according to the RCMP statement.
New Brunswick police have focused their investigation on two groups in the province alleged to have connections to the outlaw motorcycle club.
"These searches and seizures will have a significant impact on the trade of illegal drugs in New Brunswick," said RCMP Staff Sgt. Al Farrah in a statement.
"New Brunswick is unfortunately not immune to organized crime, but disrupting and deterring the illegal drug trade is one of the RCMP's priorities."
