Quebec gang leader’s ‘closer’ arrested by BC RCMP

MONTREAL — Quebec City police say a man suspected of having close ties to the leader of Quebec’s Blood Family Mafia street gang has been arrested.

Municipal police spokesperson Pierre-Olivier Lévesque said Guillaume St-Louis Bernier, 28, was arrested in Kelowna, BC by RCMP on June 30 following a police stop.

A Canada-wide arrest warrant was issued for St-Louis Bernier in March for drug trafficking and possession of stolen property.

St-Louis Bernier is considered an “associate” of alleged gang leader Dave “Pic” Turmel, who is wanted for gun violence and drug trafficking, according to Quebec City police.

Turmel, who is on the wane, has been wanted by Quebec City police since July 2023 as part of an operation launched in February 2019 to counter a surge in drug-trafficking violence.

Lévesque says members of Quebec City’s tactical response unit traveled to B.C. to retrieve St-Louis Bernier just before midnight Friday, and he is scheduled to appear in court via video conference Saturday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on July 6, 2024.

The Canadian Press