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Quebec provincial police make 22nd arrest in eastern Quebec drug war crackdown

Click to play video: '16 charged, 18 arrested in major operation targeting organized crime in Quebec'
16 charged, 18 arrested in major operation targeting organized crime in Quebec
RELATED: A collaborative police operation took place over the weekend aimed at quelling violence relating to a drug territory war between Quebec street gangs and established biker clans linked to the Hells Angels. Dan Spector reports on the latest in what authorities called a large-scale operation involving over 100 officers from provincial police, the RCMP and local forces targeting organized crime in the Quebec City area.

Provincial police have arrested a 22nd person they say is tied to a war between crime groups in Quebec City and the eastern part of the province.

Organized crime experts say the conflict involves independent drug dealers who are aligned with a Quebec street gang called Blood Family Mafia and who are refusing to pay the Hells Angels for operating on that organization’s territories.

The uptick in violence has been accompanied by videos distributed within crime networks depicting street gang members allegedly torturing Hells Angels.

Among those arrested are eight men and two women involved in a hostage taking that left one man dead and three injured in St-Malachie, Que., south of the provincial capital, on Feb. 19.

Provincial police Sgt. Hélène St-Pierre says the 22nd person arrested in the police operation, dubbed Opération Scandaleux, appeared in Quebec City court on Tuesday.

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The Crown says most of the accused are due back in court on Wednesday.

Click to play video: 'Former Hells Angels crime boss Maurice ‘Mom’ Boucher dies at 69 while serving life sentence'
Former Hells Angels crime boss Maurice ‘Mom’ Boucher dies at 69 while serving life sentence

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