MONTREAL (AP) _ Police forces have cracked down on an alleged drug ring that investigators say exported marijuana from Quebec to the United States through Mohawk Indian communities.
Inspector Lino Maurizio of the Quebec provincial police said 30 suspects were arrested today and charged with offenses including gangsterism, drug trafficking and conspiracy.
Police seized drugs, cash and luxury vehicles along with a small arsenal including assault rifles and grenade launchers.
Officers were tightlipped about the potential uses of the firearms.
"All the arms will be examined by experts, and we'll try to establish their provenance," Maurizio said.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Quebec provincial police, Mohawk authorities and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration took part in raids in Montreal and the Mohawk communities of Kahnawake, Kanesatake and Akwesasne, which straddles northern New York, Quebec and Ontario.
Gordon McGregor, president of Quebec's association of aboriginal community police chiefs, said a flood of drugs and money have caused serious harm to native communities.
"Imagine a little community when large amounts of money and drugs coming in like that, the trouble that comes with it," McGregor said. "Our priority is drugs. Drug trafficking causes the biggest social problem in our communities."
Some of the drugs were grown in the Chateauguay and Mascouche regions surrounding Montreal, Maurizio said.
