A nationwide arrest warrant has been issued by the Mounties for an alleged cocaine trafficker from Quebec with a long history of drug-related arrests.
The RCMP issued a warrant for André Chartrand of Notre-Dame-de-la-Merci, Que., on July 4 after the accused drug trafficker failed to appear at his trial, scheduled to begin late last month.
The RCMP has issued a Canada-wide warrant for 53-year-old André Chartrand, after the accused drug trafficker failed to appear at his June 23 trial. RCMP handout photo
The 53-year-old is facing several charges in connection with an investigation by the RCMP’s Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit. He was one of two men arrested after investigators uncovered a clandestine cocaine-processing laboratory in St-Jérôme in April 2022.
“Large quantities of chemicals were found on site,” the police said in a press release at the time. “The illicit cocaine processing activities posed a significant safety hazard to the public due to a high risk of fire and explosion.”
Chartrand and St-Colomban resident Jonathan Ranger were each charged with five counts of trafficking, possession for the purpose of trafficking, production and possession of items with intent to use for the production or trafficking of cocaine, as well as conspiracy.
These are not Chartrand’s first drug-related charges. The Quebec resident has charges dating back at least 18 years when he was one of the subjects of another major drug probe by the RCMP.
Both Chartrand and Ranger, along with 20 other individuals, were arrested in 2007 during a drug-trafficking investigation referred to as Operation Channel.
The investigation uncovered that Chartrand was an alleged leader within a network responsible for distributing drugs throughout Quebec and other provinces in Canada as well as in the United States, the RCMP said.
“Project Channel’s primary focus was to uncover and dismantle a clandestine ecstasy lab,” the RCMP said in a 2007 press release. “However, this operation also resulted in the identification of André Chartrand, a 35-year-old Prévost resident, as the linchpin in several drug transactions.”
Police said Chartrand was believed to be the “mastermind” behind the drug operations linked to several criminal organizations.
Each of the accused were charged with one or more counts of conspiracy to import cocaine, importing cocaine, production of cannabis, possession of cannabis for the purpose of trafficking, production of and trafficking in ecstasy.
Chartrand pleaded guilty to multiple drug trafficking-related charges in 2008 and was sentenced to an eight-year prison term.
