POLICE ARREST MORE THAN 70 IN MOB RAIDS

Quebec Crime Family Alleged To Have Lured Airport Workers,
Customs Agents

MONTREAL - It was a Quebec-based crime family with a transnational
reach, one that infiltrated Montreal's Pierre Trudeau International
Airport, bribing a federal customs agent and luring Air Canada and
food-service employees into its cocaine smuggling plots.

Another customs agent was also bribed in an operation to bring cocaine
by train from the United States. Other trafficking schemes brought
cocaine from countries such as Colombia, Mexico, the Dominican
Republic, Haiti or Venezuela.

And another cell engaged in illegal online bookmaking in the Kahnawake
Mohawk reserve, south of Montreal.

Those allegations are outlined among more than 1,000 criminal counts
filed yesterday against 90 people the police identified as associates
and underlings of (redact), the man court documents describe as
the godfather of the Montreal Mafia.

Ending a four-year investigation by several police forces, 700
officers fanned out across Quebec, as well as Halifax and Toronto
yesterday, arresting more than 70 people and seizing homes and bank
accounts.

The RCMP said police have struck at the heart of one of the top
criminal syndicates in Canada.

While the lion's share of members came from the Italian-based
underworld, the criminal enterprise extended into the outlaw biker
world as well as aboriginal communities, RCMP Assistant Commissioner
Raf Souccar said in an interview.

The organization managed to co-opt federal employees and airport staff
because it needed "facilitators" to help import drugs through
different ports of entry. "You corrupt with money," he said.

The crackdown came as the Montreal Mafia is facing a leadership
vacuum, with Mr. (redact) in detention in New York, awaiting trial on
racketeering charges.

Among those arrested yesterday was (redact), his
82-year-old father, and (redact), 67, his brother-in-law.

Wearing a fedora and dress shirt, the elder Mr. (redact) was led in
flex-cuffs away from his home, the north-end
street where the (redact) and the (redact) own luxury homes.

Other people portrayed in past court files as close associates of
(redact) were also arrested, such as (redact), 53, and (redact), 58.

About $3-million was also seized as proceeds of crime.

Police say the criminal organization had succeeded in infiltrating
Montreal's airport and co-opting a dozen airport employees as well as
a federal customs agent.

An Air Canada spokesman said a number of employees in Montreal -- up
to five, according to one report -- had been suspended after they came
under police investigation.

A customs officer, who worked in the border agency's regional
headquarters in Montreal, was "corrupted" by the organization to help
import cocaine into Canada through shipping containers, the RCMP said.

Police said the drugs were moved through a U.S. port and were to be
smuggled into Canada by train. Officers intercepted the delivery,
seizing 300 kilograms of cocaine last year, which they said was the
first part of a 1.3-tonne consignment.

Police also said they dismantled operations of a cannabis route toward
the United States via the Akwesasne Mohawk Reserve, which straddles
the Canada-U.S. border.

While it has been alleged in past court cases that the mob has
insiders within the Port of Montreal, it is the first time the
spotlight has been put on the alleged corruption of agents at Pierre
Trudeau Airport.

An official with the Canadian Border Services Agency said it
co-operated fully with police once the allegations came to light. "We
can assure the public we take this very seriously," said Amelie Morin,
a spokeswoman for the agency. "It's always unfortunate for an
organization. But we have over 7,000 officers who perform their duties
with professionalism."

Experts say the arrests hit the heart of the Sicilian Mafia in Canada,
striking at the figures who were emerging to fill the gap left by
(redact) extradition to the United States.

"This is a significant blow," said Toronto author Antonio Nicaso, an
expert on organized crime. "They've practically arrested all the
people that were leading the organization after the extradition of
(redact) . . .. The top people that were on the police radar were
all arrested."

He described (redact) as "one of the last untouchables" in the
criminal organization. "Nobody could have expected to take down
(redact) at the age of 82."

The struggle for control of cocaine importation through Montreal is
crucial because the city is the continental "port of entry" for
cocaine. "By controlling Montreal, you control the cocaine market in
all of North America," Mr. Nicaso said.

Police said investigators used telephone wiretaps, electronic
surveillance and "other methods" to track the organization
methodically for four years.

"We were able to observe the acts of the groups' members and obtain
evidence in places where the organization felt safe," said RCMP
Superintendent Richard Guay, who heads the force's criminal operations
in Quebec.