RCMP arrest 15 people following yearslong organized crime probe in Montreal area
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MONTREAL – RCMP have arrested 15 alleged members of a Montreal-based organized crime group following a yearslong drug and money-laundering investigation.
The Mounties said the suspects range in age from 24 to 73-years-old and face multiple charges including trafficking cocaine, laundering proceeds of crime, possession of and trafficking in property obtained by crime, conspiracy and offences committed for the benefit of a criminal organization.
“According to the investigation led by officers from the Organized and Financial Crime Program, proceeds from the sale of drugs were allegedly used to finance renovations to buildings linked to members of the alleged criminal organization, who are also believed to have operated an illegal gaming house in Montreal,” RCMP state in a news release issued Tuesday.
RCMP said a 16th suspect is also facing charges but they had yet to be arrested because they are in another country.
RCMP Cpl. Martina Pillarova said the arrested suspects include 61-year-old Franco Lopez, who allegedly led the group with assistance from his 53-year-old brother Pasquale and other family members.
Pillarova said the 16 suspects, including four who share the Lopez surname, all allegedly served different roles in the organization.
“There are some people that are working the streets, selling drugs, there are others that are working with money, laundering money, working in several businesses and so on,” she said in a phone interview.
The charges stem from Project Chrome, launched in 2022 by the RCMP’s anti-organized crime and money-laundering units, along with the Canada Revenue Agency.
Officers raided some 20 locations in the Montreal area in 2024, seizing around 120 electronic devices as well as hundreds of other pieces of evidence.
“We had to do extraction and analyze data from dozens of cellphones. A hundred bank accounts were also analyzed, over 45,000 transactions, 80,000 documents,” Pillarova said.
“So we’re really talking about very high volume.”
The RCMP said officers seized 14 kilograms of cocaine and more than $145,000 in cash, and put restraint orders on six buildings. The police force said the total value of the seizures exceeds $9 million.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 29, 2026.