COCAINE 'BROKER' A HERO TO SOME

Desfosses among 25 arraigned. 'Few have been able to import large
quantities of drugs for such a continuous period of time'

Raymond Desfosses, a legendary figure among the province's criminal
element, was expanding an already burgeoning cocaine-importation
empire when authorities swooped down on him this week, police said
yesterday.

Desfosses, 54, described by police as a "broker" who is alleged to
have supplied cocaine to a wide range of organized crime groups, was
among 25 people arraigned yesterday in Montreal.

Desfosses has been a well-known crime figure since the 1970s. He was
once the right-hand man to former West End Gang boss Allan (The
Weasel) Ross, although he doesn't have the same public image of other
top gangsters.

"He has a certain status among organized crime groups," RCMP Inspector
Serge Therriault said. "Some consider him a hero because he's been
able to remain active and elude the police for so long. Inside the
criminal world, few organizations have been able to import large
quantities of drugs for such a continuous period of time."

Project Calvette, a joint police operation involving more than 300
officers that began in 2002, culminated Wednesday with 25 arrests and
52 drug seizures.

Six arrests were made in Timmins, Ont., where police say Desfosses's
group was engaged in a turf war with rival gangs over drug
distribution.

The organization had contacts all over the world. Investigators had
been following the group through Cuba, Mexico, the Dominican Republic,
Colombia, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, St. Martin, Thailand and Germany.
The drugs would find their way into Canada via South America, by
sailboat or container ships.

All 25 accused - including Desfosses, who is alleged to be the
ringleader - face charges that include gangsterism, fraud, drug
trafficking and money laundering. All are to return to court Tuesday
for bail hearings.

More than $1.4 million in cash, firearms and explosives were seized,
as were large amounts of cocaine, marijuana and hashish.

"Desfosses has been investigated for years by police and there have
been cases built against him, but never quite like this," said Chief
Inspector Richard Begin of the Surete du Quebec.

On April 22, police in Sept Iles intercepted a cargo ship sailing from
Venezuela via Salem, Mass. About 12 kilograms of cocaine and $48,000
in cash were seized. On Aug. 8, the U.S. Coast Guard snagged four
Quebecers from Ste. Anne de la Perade with 750 kilograms of cocaine in
their sailboat on the Caribbean Sea.

Both smuggling attempts were orchestrated by Desfosses's ring, police
said.

"Not only were they able to import cocaine in very large quantities
but they also had the distribution network set up to sell the drugs,"
Therriault said.

The seized 750 kilograms of cocaine translated into roughly one-third
of the cocaine destined for Canada this year, Therriault added.