MORE THAN 20 ARRESTS MADE IN MAJOR COCAINE-RING BUST

Incident in Caribbean tied to operation involving 300 officers in two
provinces

MONTREAL -- An extensive police operation involving 300 officers from forces
in Quebec and Ontario cracked a major international criminal ring yesterday
that imported cocaine into Canada.

Officers carried out some 60 raids and arrested more than 20 people --
including Raymond Desfosses, nicknamed The King of Cocaine in his native
Trois-Rivieres, Que. Police allege that he is the ringleader.

"He is a big fish -- a very big fish -- and this is his organization," said
Guy Ouellette, a retired Quebec provincial police officer and an expert on
organized crime.

Police say their investigation, dubbed Project Calvette, is linked to a
little-noticed incident in the Caribbean last month.

Four Quebeckers from the tiny village of Sainte-Anne-de-la-Perade, Que.,
were picked up and detained by U.S. authorities on a sailboat in the
Caribbean sea with 750 kilograms of cocaine on board.

Their arrests were a mild shock to their home village, a sleepy spot best
known as the world capital of Tommy Cod ice-fishing.

Yesterday's huge drug bust was carried out across a half dozen towns in
Quebec and Ontario, including several major Quebec cities -- as well as in
Sainte-Anne-de-la-Perade. The only Ontario city targeted was Timmins.

Participating police forces, working under the Combined Forces Special
Enforcement Unit, included the RCMP, Quebec and Ontario provincial police,
and several municipal police forces.

"This is a major police operation. We're talking about an important
international criminal organization involved in the importation of cocaine
into Canada," said Corporal Patrice Gelinas, spokesman for the RCMP in
Montreal.

Police described Mr. Desfosses, once associated with the legendary West End
Gang of Montreal, an underworld organization with mostly Irish members, as a
major figure in the cocaine ring. Mr. Desfosses served time in a Florida
jail after being extradited in the 1990s to face an attempted-murder charge
against a police officer, as well as the murder of a drug trafficker.

But after he returned to Quebec, he maintained a low profile.

The police sweep yesterday was the culmination of a two-year investigation
that got a boost from the arrest of the four sea-faring Quebeckers in
August.

They did not give details on how the incidents are linked. The four, who are
detained in San Juan, Puerto Rico, face harsh U.S. justice, including up to
40 years in prison. "It would help them talk," Mr. Ouellette said.

The foursome's arrest went almost unnoticed on Aug. 10, when they were
picked up by the U.S. Coast Guard on their 12-metre sailboat, the Gabriella.

They were taken into custody between Puerto Rico and Saint Maarten and
charged with possession of cocaine with the intent of trafficking.

Arrested were Luc Normandin, the owner of a car-rental concession in
Sainte-Anne-de-la-Perade, son Carl Normandin, along with Kelly Rodrigue and
Nancy Dumont, a 32-year-old mother of three.

Mr. Ouellette said there are "definitely" links between the drug-import ring
targeted yesterday and criminal biker gangs, despite the fact that
law-enforcement efforts have put many high-profile criminal bikers behind
bars.

"At a top level, the bikers are still involved. When you're talking about
750 kilos of cocaine, it's high-level stuff. The bikers are still involved
in the trafficking and importation of cocaine into Quebec."