Tongue cut for speaking too much: Inmates at Rivière-des-Prairies prison last January cut another prisoner’s tongue over his status as a “snitch”. Sylvain Kabbouchi, suspected murderer of the right arm of gang leader Jean-Philippe Célestin, is believed to be one of the main actors in this violent attack.
Posted at 6:00 am
Kabbouchi was allegedly involved in an attack at Rivière-des-Prairies prison on January 9, in which several prison inmates injured another inmate’s tongue over his status as an informant.
According to court documents consulted by La Presse, the suspect is being held in an “extremely secure” unit, a sector “more restrictive than the other detainees.”
“The defendant is identified as a key player in this case,” the cited agents said in a motion filed with the court on Friday.
He is therefore transferred against his will to a high-security sector. However, the Laval bandit was not interrogated and no disciplinary report was drawn up in relation to the crime, according to La Presse’s inquiry.
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Sylvain Kabbouchi
Among other things, Kabbouchi denied the fact that he had been treated differently from other detainees and had been transferred to a high-security wing without having explained to him the reasons for this. He also denies having participated in the attack on the informant. “The suspect believes it is not possible to claim and prove that he controlled the other detainees during the attack. »
He withdrew from his motion at the last minute, which was due to be heard at the Montreal courthouse on Friday morning.
Very influential, according to the authorities
In a meeting with the prison service director, the latter compared Kabbouchi “to one of the most influential organized crime actors in Quebec,” according to documents filed with the court.
It states that he “has a lot of influence in the industry, more than he lets on”.
The 23-year-old is considered a poster boy for gang violence in Laval and is known to police as a member of the BLOCC MAFIA street gang in Laval, in the Chomedey area. Sources close to the criminal underworld claim he recently distanced himself from the group over a dispute.
At the time of his arrest in connection with the murder of Nitchell Lapaix, aka Crank, he was already being held in Rivière-des-Prairies prison. At the time of the murder, Lapaix was believed to be the right-hand man of gang leader Jean-Philippe Célestin.
Numerous disciplinary violations
Kabbouchi has suffered multiple disciplinary infractions related to his conduct behind bars since his transfer from the sector, the court documents also report.
The young criminal’s requests to meet with facility staff to discuss his case go unanswered days after the Jan. 9 attack. So he uses a toaster to melt down part of his cell’s plastic window “to get the attention of the guards,” the petition reads. The gesture earned him a disciplinary report.
The following month, tobacco, a hot plate, and brass knuckles made with the same toaster were found in his possession.
Another disciplinary report is added when Kabbouchi orders pizza over the phone to prank the prison officers. “Although they appeared to find the situation amusing, the service director ordered officers to file a complaint,” the request reads.
An “important package” was also found in his cell in January.
notorious criminal
Despite his young age, Sylvain Kabbouchi has a long criminal record and is suspected of the murder of Lapaix.
In January 2022, he was arrested for a violent home invasion and kidnapping of a pregnant woman in Laval. A dispute over a Bitcoin transaction is suspected to be the source of the crime.
He also faces charges of forcible detention, disposal of a firearm and robbery in connection with an incident in Boisbriand just before Lapaix was killed.
He had also been charged during the December 2021 seizure of 2kg of carfentanyl in Granby. This synthetic substance from the opiate family is 100 times stronger than fentanyl.
According to our criminal and police sources, Sylvain Kabbouchi has been the subject of two attempted murders in the past.