POLICE RAID MASSIVE MOONSHINE OPERATION

Quebec Bootleggers Supplied Bars, Police Say

NAMUR, Quebec -- Tucked away in the rolling Laurentian hills, a dilapidated
barn houses a homemade distillery for what could be the largest and most
sophisticated bootlegging operation ever uncovered in Quebec.

Surete du Quebec officers from Hull raided the rural farm on Highway 363
yesterday, halfway between Namur and Notre-Dame-de-la-Paix, about 22
kilometres north of Montebello. The raid was part of a massive undercover
operation nicknamed Operation Baboche (Operation Bootleg), which also
targeted several locations in the Montreal and St-Jerome areas.

Eight-three provincial police officers swooped down on nine locations in
Quebec at 10 a.m. yesterday, capping a one-month investigation into an
elaborate organization that produced, bottled and sold illegal alcohol to
bars as well as individuals.

Police have not yet determined how much money the operation was bringing
in, but say it might have been worth millions.

The massive investigation began in earnest late last month, after an
informant told police about the operation.

Inspectors with Quebec's liquor board, the Regie des alcools, have stepped
up their efforts to locate illegal booze in licensed establishments in
recent months, reacting to suggestions by industry insiders that as much as
27 per cent of alcohol sales in the province involve illegal liquor.

In the raid near Namur, police arrested a 52-year-old man and a 53-year-old
woman at the rented farm, which includes a quaint chalet.

The two were still being questioned last night at provincial police
headquarters in Papineauville. Charges involving fraud and the production
and distribution of contraband alcohol were pending.

Seasoned investigators marvelled at the organization's complexity and its
attention to detail; they were especially impressed by the distillery's
capabilities.

From the road, the two-storey distillery looks like a weathered, slightly
leaning barn. But the barn features living quarters for workers and
extensive hydro hookups for the numerous kettles used to produce alcohol
that police estimate was 92-per-cent pure.

The alcohol was then shipped to a location closer to St-Jerome. The
finished product eventually found its way to bars on the Kanawake Reserve
and in the St- Jerome area.

Police were also amazed at the quality of the labels the organization
allegedly produced for the contraband alcohol and are trying to trace the
labels' origin.

"If I brought one of the bottles of liquor they produced and you looked at
it, you wouldn't know the difference from a legal bottle," said Capt.
Richard Begin, head of the provincial police's organized crime unit, which
works out of St-Jerome.

Raids on warehouses near St-Jerome netted 10,000 litres of alcohol in large
plastic containers, waiting to be bottled. It represented some 4,800
1.5-litre bottles with a street value approaching $150,000.

Police also seized 140 bottles ready for sale, in addition to countless
bogus stickers for rum and vodka.

"We haven't been able to calculate the potential profit because what these
people were selling for between $15 and $20 would cost $40 to $50 at the
Regie des Alcools," Capt. Begin said.

"We had a big bust last spring near Mont-Laurier and this certainly
compares in every area, except the capacity to produce. This is by far,
much larger."

Capt. Begin said he believes the organization had been in operation since
last September. He said he thought it had just completed a shipment and was
preparing to embark on another when the police conducted their raid.

He said his investigators found no link with organized crime, such as
motorcycle gangs. He did say the investigation was far from over, and the
police may make more arrests.

Police netted seven suspects during yesterday's raid; investigators believe
the ring may involve as many as 100 people. Several of those arrested
yesterday are known to police.

Inspectors will also be combing bars and nightclubs in the St-Jerome area,
looking for illegal booze already on the shelves.

"This involved a lot of money," said Capt. Begin, while officers searched
the chalet and distillery.

Capt. Begin remarked that " a message should go out to people who insist on
buying illegal booze E That is, that we have no control over the quality or
quantity of what is being produced illegally and that could be dangerous."

Copyright 1998 The Ottawa Citizen