Nunavik, Montreal police team up to stop smuggling, violence against Inuit
Police say criminal organizations have been harassing, intimidating and assaulting Inuit living in Montreal temporarily
From left, Nunavik Police Service Chief Jean-Pierre Larose, Kativik Regional Government chairperson Hilda Snowball, Montreal public security representative Alain Vaillancourt and Montreal Police Department Chief-Inspector Mohamed Aziz Bouhdid conduct a press conference on the new joint operation. (Photo courtesy of SPVM/YouTube)
Security has been increased for Inuit temporarily staying in Montreal, following reports of criminal groups harassing, intimidating and assaulting Nunavimmiut there.
A two-week joint patrol involving Nunavik Police Service and the Montreal police department has been started and will run until Oct. 4, it was announced Monday at a news conference in Montreal.
Nunavik Police Service Chief Jean-Pierre Larose told reporters that in May, members of criminal groups tried to illegally transport alcohol and drugs into Akulivik from Montreal.
He said Nunavik police intercepted a cargo parcel destined for Akulivik containing a dozen 1.75-litre bottles of vodka.
“They attempted to recruit Inuit sellers as mules to transport the illegal merchandise to Nunavik from Montreal,” Larose said in French, adding the Inuit were young adults, mostly female.
“They use people to transport, and these people become victims” of the criminals’ system, he said.
A police operations report presented this month to Kativik Regional Government showed that in late June, Nunavik police investigating sales of crack cocaine carried out searches at a home and a hotel in Akulivik.
Officers seized $15,000 in cash plus cellphones. Two suspects were arrested.
During another search in July in Salluit, officers seized a cargo parcel with 10 750-ml bottles of vodka.
That same week, police intercepted three “mules” coming from Montreal carrying illegal materials — two headed to Kangirsuk and one to Inukjuak.
“These operations destabilized the criminals, and they then replied in Montreal,” Larose said of the criminals’ reaction to the seizures.
“They intimidated, threatened and assaulted Inuit for them to stay silent and [not] identify them,” he said. “For the victims or witnesses of these situations, it would compromise their security.”
Ullivik is a boarding home for Inuit temporarily staying in Montreal while going through medical treatment. Nunavik police Chief Jean-Pierre Larose points to Dorval as a place where criminal organizations have tried to get in touch with Inuit to work in illegal activities, including smuggling of alcohol. (Photo by Cedric Gallant)
Larose did not identify the criminal organizations, saying he didn’t want to jeopardize ongoing investigations.
The joint operation between Nunavik and Montreal police is the first of its kind in Quebec, Larose said.
It’s designed “to reinforce trust with the members of the community, to reassure them and encourage them to denounce” the criminals behind the smuggling operation.
Nunavik and Montreal police will patrol together in teams of two and meet with Inuit living temporarily in Montreal; each organization has assigned eight officers to the project.
“The ultimate goal of these patrols is inciting Inuit to signal the police [to] all events that they may be a victim or witness of,” said Montreal police Chief Inspector Mohamed Aziz Bouhdid.
The patrols are being deployed in four Montreal neighbourhoods: downtown Ville-Marie, Westmount, Plateau Mont-Royal and Dorval.
Larose pointed to the Ullivik centre, where Nunavimmiut stay while they’re receiving health care in Montreal, and the Dorval Café-Bar as particular points of interest for police.
Officers will watch for people who “are a bit vulnerable, who are here for medical appointments around [these establishments], that are then recruited” for criminal activity.
“We will do whatever it takes to make sure that Nunavimmiut have the services and protection they need,” said Hilda Snowball, the Kativik Regional Government chairperson who attended Monday’s news conference.
“We hope to disrupt criminal activities for a sustained amount of time for the safety and security of Nunavimmiut.”
“We do operations and busts both in Nunavik and Montreal,” added Larose. “We are all working together, but it is difficult because it comes up [to the North] from everywhere.”
Depending on the impact this project has over the next two weeks, “we are not putting aside the possibility of doing this program again,” he said.
Bouhdid said Montreal police hope “to maybe do this same experience on the field in Nunavik.”
Just the reference to the dealing of the investigation in akulivik is enough to go on with my additional facts of reality. As much as this is about stopping the predators from abuse to Inuit, it’s most about Inuit themselves. This is a measurement opportunity for leadership in Nunavik and Quebec. And all organizations concerned should realize . Inuit in the first place being vulnerable speaks it all. The Inuit society after many years of money wasted programs , education all together had done very little to helplessness , which is ridiculous, that such vulnerability exist today on that level and for an expensive program of progression, education and common sense have failed terribly. Inuit society needs big intervention, until which time the police program as mentioned in this report will always be needed continuously.
Thanks, ‘More reality …’; especially, your comment “As much as this is about stopping the predators from abuse to Inuit, it’s most about Inuit themselves.”.
Notwithsatnding the understandable secrecy around the investigation of criminals outlined in the article, “Larose did not identify the criminal organizations, saying he didn’t want to jeopardize ongoing investigations.”, truth be told the headline should probably read: Police say ‘Inuit’ criminal organizations have been harassing, intimidating and assaulting Inuit living in Montreal temporarily
Yes, a great deal of the problem is with Inuit. Inuit are too openly trusting and opportunistic. ways to make money are few and far between, so trafficking is often an easy way to make money. FAS is also a very big problem and it becomes very bad when the child grows and has a weak sense of right and wrong.
When there is a demand for any chemicals that “pleases” the user, they’ll always be someone supplying it. Sad, but a true story.
“He said Nunavik police intercepted a cargo parcel destined for Akulivik containing a dozen 1.75-litre bottles of vodka.
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“They attempted to recruit Inuit sellers as mules to transport the illegal merchandise to Nunavik from Montreal,” Larose said in French, adding the Inuit were young adults, mostly female.
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“They use people to transport, and these people become victims” of the criminals’ system, he said.”
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We need to relax liquor prohibitions in Nunavik, to keep people from having to interact with and (in the own words of our police chief) “become victims of the criminals’ system”.
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Tough to be a victim of the criminal system when you get rid of the only reason those systems are in place and targeting Nunavik communities.
So, we’re playing the blame game now are we. We’ll blame the criminal organizations in the surrounding areas of Montreal and Dorval. Most of the bootlegging of illegal liquor stems from adult men and women who decided by themselves that it is much easier to purchase liquor from the south and make a huge profit in Nunavik. I have seen family members and friends purchasing brand new ski-doo’s, atv hondas, speed boats, canoes, trailers, hunting equipment with the illegal sale of beer, wine and liquor. Don’t place all the blame on organized gangs in Montreal. There too are organized gangs of Inuit living in Nunavik who have respectable jobs, in politics and Inuit organizations or other peoples working for Inuit organizations in Nunavik and Montreal. Its time for the Inuit organizations in Nunavik and Montreal to start finding solutions for the alcohol and drug abuse in Nunavik.
Don’t place the blame on others.
How do restrictions help? They only make the alcohol more expensive in the black market and it’s very high on demand.
In Kuujjuaq , we have 2 beer stores , that operate 6 day a week . drunks everywhere , cops , hospital , social workers and courts very busy. Its the case of “DAM IF YOU DO , DAME IF YOU DON T “
And we had drunks and overworked cops, hospital and social workers before, with busy courts… now at least they deal with bootlegging and its violence much much less than before! it’s an improvement
Majority of french working are hired at Nunavut mines. Even with modular homes and buildings being built in Nunavut communities aren’t seeing much Inuit working. Not a single inuk working at modular buildings. Only use for outside non Nunavut residents. What a rip off country. Not really hiring locals, and always experiencing unwanted behaviour towards Inuit, creating non Inuit businesses to built walls against Inuit in Nunavut, I hope next government won’t stay in power liberals or conservative stays low in power.