CBC:

Some 300 police officers and partners were mobilized Monday in Quebec and Ontario

The RCMP says it has cracked down on an elaborate international money-laundering network operated by organized-crime cells in Montreal and Toronto.

Police arrested 17 people in early morning raids in the two cities Monday, seizing more than $32.8 million in assets.

"It is by depriving criminal groups of their money-laundering networks that we will shake the very structure of organized crime,'' said RCMP Supt. Martine Fontaine Tuesday at a news conference.

The network had the capacity to launder millions of dollars, she said.

Dubbed Project Collecteur, the bust involved multiple police forces and the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), the RCMP said in a statement Tuesday that offered some details of their investigation.

Fontaine called the investigation extremely complex and one of the most important of its kind in Canada — one of the rare money-laundering probes that has led to gangsterism charges.

Investigators had to narrow their focus to certain people and keep track of evidence, she said, in a bid to facilitate the prosecution process and not cause delays.

"It's thousands and thousands of documents to disclose and to caveat and to be prepared for full disclosure," Fontaine said.

 

Quebec cell

  • Mohamad Jaber, 51, Laval.
  • Kamel Ghaddar, 39, Laval.
  • Eric Bradette, 36, L'Assomption.
  • Sergio Violetta Galvez, 43, Laval.
  • Alexei Parasenco, 26, Montreal.
  • Mario Maratta, 64, Sainte-Sophie.
  • Sorin Ehrlich, 62, Montreal.
  • Gary Maybee, 57, Austin.

Ontario cell

  • Nader Gramian-Nik, 56, Vaughan.
  • Tania Geramian-Nik, 28, Vaughan.
  • Sahar Shojaei, 45, Thornhill.
  • Thomas Hsueh, 47, Thornhill.
  • Mohammadreza Sheikhhassani, 55, Richmond Hill.
  • Shabnam Mansouri, 38, Maple.

During the investigation and the searches, police seized drugs including cannabis, cocaine, hashish and methamphetamine, with a market value of close to $2.2 million, the RCMP said.

 

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