Most drug users saw their first hit in high school. Of course, there are outliers that may be well acquainted with certain substances by the time they first enter high school or even from birth, but the majority of users have first been introduced to illicit consumption in their teens. Last Thursday (17/10/2024) an impressive drug seizure had taken place nearly 100 meters from a private school named College de Champigny in Quebec City, more precisely, L’Ancienne Lorette in the Sainte-Foy borough of the city.
Also near the targeted house was a youth center named Maison Jean Lafrance located only 10 civic numbers away from the school. Were the drug dealers strategically placed in front of a school to make the most of their numbers? No. Students aren’t gonna buy a few kilos of coke on their lunch break between a couple of classes. Is the mainstream news going to spin a story relating this fact? Of course. The fact that this bust happened footsteps away from school is purely a coincidence. So let’s get into it.
48 kilograms of cocaine, 2 kilograms of MDMA, 2.5 kilograms of crystal meth, 2350 tablets of methamphetamine, 3840 tablets of Viagra and 180 grams of hash were seized Thursday when the SPVQ (Quebec City Police Department) had set out the final step of an ongoing investigation which had debuted in May. Supplementary to massive amounts of drugs seized, 265,000$ in cash along with 2 vehicles were taken away by police. Firearms were also seized by authorities; a .44 caliber revolver and two .22 caliber pistols.
Suspects were also arrested throughout this takedown which had taken place Thursday and included 4 suspects between the ages of 43-64. The leader of the group; Philippe Dionne, 44, had 3 dealers who would disperse the drugs. One of them was his very own wife, Anne-Marie Brisson. The two others were individuals named Michel Lapierre and Guylaine Rousseau.
Philippe Dionne had lived in the house adjacent to the youth center for somewhere between 5 and 6 years. He was charged 7 times; possession and drug-trafficking, possession of a prohibited firearm and breaking his parole. This wasn’t Dionne’s first rodeo as he was sentenced to 25 months after authorities uncovered his implication in a drug trafficking ring circa 2018. Old habits die hard.
He appeared in court this Tuesday. The judge had denied his bail and his case had been reported to a later date. Dionne is forbidden from having any sort of contact with his past accomplices. As for the other 3 people involved, they were not accused as of yet and were liberated with a promise to appear at their next court date in the future.
With the amount of weight the gang had been pushing it’s unlikely the fact of being 100 meters from a school had anything to do with it. One man who second thinks this fact is Jean Lafrance, the owner of Maison Jean Lafrance who told the media his jaw dropped when he heard about the seizure and looks back at youngins coming back from a walk under the influence. But hey, coincidences do happen.
