Quebec and Lévis police arrested a dozen people in two separate operations yesterday, during which many weapons and an impressive amount of drugs were seized.

The City of Lévis Police Department (SPVL) first completed a three-month investigation involving five simultaneous searches on both sides of the river.

Authorities subsequently seized three pistols, a 12-caliber long gun, an energy weapon and six vehicles as property related to the crime.

They also stole 300 grams of cocaine, 8 grams of heroin, a coke press and thousands of Canadian dollars.

The use of investigators, tactical intervention groups, dog handlers and the support of the Quebec City Police (SPVQ) and the Sûreté du Québec (SQ) led to the arrest of four suspects in this case.

“The four people arrested, one of whom is a member of an illegal motorcycle gang, ultimately face multiple charges,” the police said in a statement.

These include drug dealing, illegal possession of a firearm and possession of a prohibited weapon.

More than a kilo of cola

On the same day, the SPVQ conducted simultaneous searches that led to the arrests of four people, aged 24 and 33, for drug trafficking and weapons possession.

During this major operation, which took place in the Sainte-Foy and Lebourgneuf sectors, investigators seized around 1.2 kg of cocaine, two pistols, two magazines and a silencer.

They also got their hands on $32,000 in Canadian currency, two vehicles valued at $38,000 and several items related to the drug trade.

The Panamanian-flagged Mawashi Express, loaded with 16,000 cows, was intercepted by the National Police in Algeciras in an anti-drug operation, where it was searched for 5 tons of cocaine.

Investigators from the National Police Central Drug Brigade searched for 48 hours for five tons of cocaine on the Panamanian-flagged liner Mawashi Express, which left Cartagena, Colombia, on June 10, bound for Puerto Said, Egypt, with 16,000 cows on board. . The agents, in cooperation with the Colombian Navy and the GEO and as part of an anti-drug investigation against the so-called Gulf clan, intercepted the ship last Tuesday in the Alborán Sea off Almería. From there it was diverted to the port of San Roque (Cádiz), where it has been moored ever since, without agents having so far found a single gram of narcotics.

The ship, 195 meters long and 34 meters wide, with a crew of 77 – mostly Egyptians and Syrians and two Colombians – is the largest the national police have so far recorded in an anti-drug operation. with the myriad of complications that entails. “Time is limited, the crew is being detained but must continue to feed the livestock and the situation of the animals on the ship is not good,” sources from the inquiry say. Agents have 72 hours from their arrest to conduct the search. They can extend it if the judge approves, but with the caveat that the 16,000 cows still on board can remain. The operation is being directed by the National Court’s Central Court of Instruction Number 6, along with the Anti-Drug Prosecutor’s Office.

The “Mawashi Express” docked in San Roque.

If the cocaine is finally found – although investigators stress that “it’s almost like looking for a needle in a haystack against the clock” – it would confirm the suspicions of the Colombian authorities, who believe that it is is a loading method and drug unloading is on the rise, with livestock-loaded vessels later being transhipped with drugs at some point on the high seas, making them difficult to locate and making it difficult for the police to control them. The 77 crew members arrested will be released if the drugs don’t turn up.

This police operation goes far beyond the operation conducted in the Canary Islands last January, in which agents intercepted a ship, the Orion V, with 1,700 cows on board and found 4.5 tons of cocaine hidden in the shipping containers. Investigators suspect that it is the same Colombian organization that specializes in transporting the drug with this system. Also, on that occasion, some of the animals belonged to a company owned by the son-in-law of the current President of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, according to police sources.

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Ukraine on Thursday struck a key bridge linking annexed Crimea to a partially Russian-occupied southern region, while Moscow says Kiev’s counteroffensive is stalling.

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Crimea, a Ukrainian peninsula annexed by Moscow in 2014, serves as a base for Russian forces, particularly for sending reinforcements and servicing equipment. The few bridges connecting the peninsula to occupied southern Ukraine are vital to the conduct of these operations.

“During the night, the Khangar Bridge, consisting of two parallel roads connecting Crimea with the Kherson region in southern Ukraine, was hit, said the Russian governor of the annexed peninsula, Sergei Aksionov.

He added that the strike did not cause casualties. This bridge is on the most direct route between Crimea and Melitopol, one of the largest cities captured by the Russians in their offensive in southern Ukraine.

Administrative official for the occupied part of the Kherson region, Vladimir Saldo, said Ukrainian forces likely used British long-range storm shadow missiles, an unverifiable claim by an independent source.

Mr Saldo posted video showing the two sections of the bridge damaged by the strike, one of which is significantly more damaged and has a gaping hole in the carriageway leading to the water below.

Ukrainian forces “try to intimidate residents of Kherson to sow panic among the population,” he accused.

“Psychological Effects”

Crimea is regularly the target of Ukrainian attacks, particularly by drones.

In October 2022, a massive explosion severely damaged the only bridge directly connecting annexed Crimea to Russia.

A member of the Ukrainian government in Kherson, Yuriy Sobolevskiy, said that the damage to the Changar Bridge was “of great importance” because “it is a blow to Russian military logistics” that will also have “psychological repercussions”.

However, Russia continues to claim that the Ukrainian counteroffensive failed.

On Thursday, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu claimed that Ukraine’s armed forces had “reduced activities” to “regroup” after “heavy casualties”.

But the head of the Russian paramilitary group Wagner, Yevgeny Prigoyine, on Thursday accused the Russian general staff of “lying” to Vladimir Putin about the situation at the front. “There are colossal problems,” he said.

Putin cautiously estimated on Thursday that “the enemy’s offensive potential has not yet been exhausted” and referred to “strategic reserves” that Kiev has not yet exhausted. He urged the Russian army to “take this reality into account”.

For its part, Ukraine says it is moving forward slowly but surely, claiming to have taken over eight localities since early June. Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Khmygal warned on Thursday that the counter-offensive “will take time” as Kiev wants to carry out “smart” actions. However, he said he was “optimistic”.

Analysts say Kiev is still testing Russia’s defenses before throwing the bulk of its forces into battle.

Devastated, recaptured village

In Storojevé, a village recently taken by Kiev troops in the east, the damage is everywhere: hardly any trace of civilian presence, houses with destroyed roofs, walls riddled with bullets.

On its back lies the corpse of a Russian soldier, while amid artillery skirmishes between the two camps, Ukrainian soldiers proudly display their loot, such as bulletproof vests or a helmet.

“We are at home,” says Valentin, who took part in the battles to recapture Storojevé. He hopes the counter-offensive will repel the Russians and says slyly that one day in Moscow he wants to eat “ice cream on Red Square” that he bought with Ukrainian currency.

Amid a counter-offensive, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Thursday urged NATO leaders, who are due to meet in Lithuania in mid-July, to focus on boosting military aid to Ukraine, which is the “top priority”.

In addition, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia on Thursday of preparing a “terrorist” attack to release radioactive radiation from the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, which he occupies. The Kremlin denounced a “lie”.

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director Rafael Grossi is due to meet with Russian Atomic Energy Agency chief Alexei Likhachev in Kaliningrad on Friday to discuss the security of the Zaporizhia power plant, where he surrendered last week.