Provincial police join forces with Montreal, suburban cops to fight extortion

Quebec provincial police say they’re creating a joint task force with Montreal, Laval and Longueuil police to fight a wave of violent extortion targeting businesses.

The Sûreté du Québec says the project, dubbed UNIS, aims to encourage business to report extortion attempts and to help police forces in the Montreal region share information.

“Violence and intimidation perpetrated by criminal groups is unacceptable. No organization can act alone against extortion. The police services are united, mobilized and determined to take action, both in terms of prevention and investigation, to combat extortion and protect the safety of our communities,” Chief Inspector Amélie Bouchard of the Laval police service’s criminal investigation division said in a press release.

The police services say the new initiative is intended to help them take a co-ordinated and harmonized approach to protecting and supporting businesses.

The task force also aims to increase information sharing between police services and to co-ordinate an increased police presence to reassure business owners.

“No business should have to operate under threat. It is precisely to break this cycle that our organizations are speaking with one voice today and launching Project UNIS,” Benoit Dubé, the deputy chief of the Sûreté du Québec said in a release.

Restaurants, cafés and bars across the Montreal region have been targeted by extortion attempts and fire bombings in recent months, with criminal organizations using social media to recruit teenagers to carry out attacks.

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