André Ferland, in critical condition, took part in plot to ship cocaine to Montreal
The man shot by police in St. Zotique on Thursday, while arrests were made in connection with a marijuana growop, had close ties to the Hells Angels in Montreal, The Gazette has learned.
André Ferland, 63, of St. Zotique, was shot at least once as members of a Sûreté du Québec SWAT team stormed into his apartment early Thursday. He was taken to a hospital, where he was still reported to be in critical, yet stable, condition on Friday.
Ferland's criminal record is extensive and includes a conviction in the U.S. where he was sentenced, in Florida, to a five-year prison term for money laundering as part of a conspiracy to ship cocaine to Montreal for the Nomads chapter of the Hells Angels in 1997 and 1998. At the time, the now-defunct chapter was run by Maurice (Mom) Boucher, who is now serving a life sentence for plotting the murders of two prison guards. Court records detail how Ferland travelled to Venezuela for the biker gxxg to arrange for the cocaine shipments.
He was released from a U.S. penitentiary in 2005 but quickly reoffended, and in 2006 was sentenced in Valleyfield court to two years in prison for producing more than 2,500 marijuana plants.
According to a Parole Board of Canada decision in August 2006, Ferland had rarely held down a real job but claimed to work under the table repairing air conditioners. He told the parole board in 2006 that his criminal activity had more to do with a dire financial situation than an actual allegiance to any organized crime group.
Ferland also has been convicted of counterfeiting documents, identity theft and dealing in contraband tobacco.
The apartment where he was shot looks out over a section of the St. Lawrence River notorious for its popularity with contraband smugglers.
Three other men - André Goupil, 36, of Verdun; Louis Coulombe, 29, and Jean-François Chagnon, 47, both of Laval - arrested as suspects in a marijuana growoperation that the Montreal police allege is tied to "Italian organized crime" appeared before a judge at the Montreal courthouse Friday. They were ordered to remain in custody until their bail hearing.
A fifth man, Vincent Faucher, 39, of Valleyfield, is still being sought in the case.
The group targeted by the Montreal police organized-crime division was investigated for a little more than a month, according to the charges. All of the men, except for Faucher, are alleged to have grown marijuana in Laval from March 9 up to the day of the arrests. Faucher is charged with being in possession of marijuana and hashish, with intent to traffic, on the days of the raids. Twenty charges in all were filed in the case.
Police seized about 6,000 marijuana plants and more than 30 kilograms of marijuana after carrying out search warrants at several addresses, including two warehouses in Laval.
They also seized $660,000 from safety deposit boxes that the police allege are tied to Ferland.
According to a published report, Ferland was not armed when the police shot him. The investigation into why he was shot has been turned over to the Quebec City police because, as per provincial legislation, a police force cannot probe its own officers in an incident where someone is killed or injured.
Quebec City police Constable Christine Lebrasseur said Ferland's condition was still the same on Friday. She said she could not comment on the report that Ferland was unarmed because the investigation is continuing.
http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/shot+raid+grow+ties+Hells+Angels/6458162/story.html
A fifth man, Vincent Faucher, 39, of Valleyfield, is still being sought in the case.
The group targeted by the Montreal police organized-crime division was investigated for a little more than a month, according to the charges. All of the men, except for Faucher, are alleged to have grown marijuana in Laval from March 9 up to the day of the arrests. Faucher is charged with being in possession of marijuana and hashish, with intent to traffic, on the days of the raids. Twenty charges in all were filed in the case.
Police seized about 6,000 marijuana plants and more than 30 kilograms of marijuana after carrying out search warrants at several addresses, including two warehouses in Laval.
They also seized $660,000 from safety deposit boxes that the police allege are tied to Ferland.
According to a published report, Ferland was not armed when the police shot him. The investigation into why he was shot has been turned over to the Quebec City police because, as per provincial legislation, a police force cannot probe its own officers in an incident where someone is killed or injured.
Quebec City police Constable Christine Lebrasseur said Ferland's condition was still the same on Friday. She said she could not comment on the report that Ferland was unarmed because the investigation is continuing.
http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/shot+raid+grow+ties+Hells+Angels/6458162/story.html
