Joseph Frenn, a person linked by police intelligence to Lebanese organized crime, was found guilty of manufacturing and possessing cocaine for the purpose of trafficking at the Saint-Jérôme courthouse on Thursday.
Posted at 1:05 p.m
In 2017, 33-year-old Joseph Frenn, his brothers, as well as the Saoumaa brothers and others were the subjects of a comprehensive investigation called Affliction by the Organized Crime Unit of the Service de Police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM).
Investigators suspected that the organization was selling up to 50 kilograms of cocaine per week and supplying the Hells Angels and the Mafia.
According to police, the same organization was behind a failed importation of 130 kg of cocaine by plane in March 2017.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY US CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION
Sylvain Desjardins and David Ayotte made an emergency landing in Ohio on March 29, 2017 with their small plane packed with 130 kilograms of cocaine.
The plane, piloted by two Quebecers, made an emergency landing on the runway at Ohio University airport due to a mechanical problem.
The organization had also set up a state-of-the-art cocaine processing and pressing laboratory at Thomas Gore Road in Lachute, which was dismantled by police a few days after the plane made an emergency landing.
Photo submitted in court
A photo of the property on Thomas Gore Road in Lachute where the lab was located, in the garage in the background.
Betrayed by his DNA
In April 2017, detectives found a hydraulic press, cocaine-contaminated electronic scales, ovens, coffee grinders, sealants, chemicals, masks, ventilated helmets, gloves and stamps used as logos in this laboratory, located in the outdoor garage of a property.
Photo submitted in court
Part of the floor plan of the cocaine processing and production laboratory dismantled by SPVM Organized Crime Division investigators in April 2017.
Joseph Frenn’s DNA was identified on a mask and one of the helmets found in the laboratory, and one of his fingerprints was found on a scale.
Photo submitted in court
Frenn’s DNA was found on a helmet like this, discovered in the Lachute laboratory.
The evidence against Frenn was also based on videos and several surveillances conducted between January and April 2017, in which he was seen going to the laboratory or in the company of accomplices with whom he transported or exchanged bags and suitcases, including once between midnight and 8 o’clock in the morning
“A money counting machine, masks, drug trafficking products and reusable bags were found in the defendant’s house, confiscated during searches and containing kilos of cocaine,” emphasized Judge Sylvain Lépine of the Quebec Court, before coming to this conclusion from the documents presented to him Based on circumstantial evidence, he could not draw any conclusion other than that the defendant was guilty.
“Police observations during surveillance show unusual behavior. This is not about individuals doing sports together. These people, including the defendants, exchange bags. We do not see the content, but the only logical conclusion from the elements seized during the searches, i.e. the cocaine,” concluded Judge Lépine.
“One of the arguments of the defense is that we do not see the contents of the bags that the defendant and his alleged accomplices are carrying. But the nature of these crimes is to hide what is being transported. “Drug traffickers will certainly not transport money and drugs in clear bags,” the judge added, even calling one of the defense theories “far-fetched.”
An unusual accusation
In Quebec, it is relatively rare for a person to be charged and convicted of cocaine production. Anyone convicted of this charge faces a sentence of life in prison.
“The circumstantial evidence against the defendant was conclusive beyond a reasonable doubt. But combined with direct evidence, it became overwhelming. “The Director of Criminal and Prosecution (DPCP) is satisfied with the verdict in light of the full analysis of the evidence carried out by the court,” responded prosecutors Caroline Buist and Jennifer Lepage.
Joseph Frenn was represented by Me Danièle Roy.
The sentencing was postponed until mid-January.
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