Shooting of Underworld Figure in Quebec Starbucks Suggests Transition to Audacious Strategies, Say Organized Crime Analysts
The brazen public execution of a notable Canadian crime boss inside a outlying Starbucks this week could signal a developing, more unstable and aggressive environment when it comes to underworld activities, experts note.
Leadership Void Appearing
The detentions of suspected top-level, veteran members of Montreal's mafia in June has likely resulted in a void – meaning upcoming, junior gangs are attempting to establish themselves.
Violent Attack Particulars
Authorities reported at a news conference that they were dispatched to a Starbucks in Laval, Quebec at about late morning on Wednesday because of alerts of a shooting inside the coffee shop. One man was killed and two others were injured.
Targeted Person
While police have not confirmed the deceased's identity, various Canadian media outlets have reported the man killed was a previously found guilty narcotics dealer, forty, also known by an street name. The individual was the head of a organization operating in the area.
Authority Comments
The Quebec's public security minister said: "All evidence indicates it being an incident linked to underworld activities."
The area's top officer advised journalists that while he could not comment on the case, he recognizes the man killed due to his "reputation". "The individual was linked to criminal networks," he added.
Criminal History
The targeted individual was first associated officially to unlawful behavior in 2005 when law enforcement in Montreal arrested him and several accomplices in a drug trafficking operation. He ultimately admitting responsibility on substance charges and was given to a couple of years in prison.
According to records, the individual was detained for a second time in 2009, again for narcotics distribution, and was afterwards handed to another 60 months in prison.
Professional Assessment
A university expert explained that criminal organizations in the area used to be marked around exercising restraint over visible conflicts and counted on a defined leadership system.
An audacious midday assassination at a popular café points to there may not be a dominant force maintaining control – as conflict could impact activities when it comes to drug trafficking, commented the specialist.
Organizational Breakdown
The expert stated it is possible that the faction which targeted the gang leader simply "showed disregard" about the visible exhibition of force in order to eliminate their target.
But the criminologist believes more plausible is there has been a decline of organization and control within criminal networks in Montreal, associated with significant arrests of the purported leaders of local criminal networks made in June.
Key Detentions
After a multi-year investigation, police took into custody an suspected criminal organization head and accused him with killing and other associated offences.
Current Situation
The current apprehensions were viewed as the last "nail in the coffin" for the traditional organized crime, noted the expert.
It has created a void that newer urban organizations are attempting to occupy. The latest incident is an signal of an uncertain, fluid landscape, he explained.
"We're seeing kind of this plethora of minor, not super well-organised gangs ... that are fighting for dominance," he remarked.
