Police raids throughout Greater Montreal after an alleged gang member was killed

Montreal police (SPVM) officers conducted several raids Thursday in Laval, Brossard and Montreal as part of an investigation into the killing of an alleged gang member.

About 100 police officers from SPVM, Laval police (SPL) and Longueuil police (SPAL) participated in the operation.

It comes after a 28-year-old man was shot dead on February 17 at 12:15 a.m. as he left a restaurant in Bellechasse, near St. Denis in Little Italy.

According to SPVM, the suspects shot the victim from inside the vehicle before fleeing the scene.

The victim, Jean Brandon Celestin, was the brother of Jean-Philippe Celestin, the leader of the criminal group.

The Celestine brothers were reportedly linked to Gregory Woolley, who was murdered in November 2023 in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, south of Montreal.

Woolley was said to have ties to the Hells Angels, an organization linked to the Italian mafia.

Celestin's death in February was the sixth homicide of 2024 on Montreal Island.

Anyone with information about the homicide can call 911, their local police station, 514-393-1133, or contact Crimestop Montreal via the report form available at infocrimemontreal.ca.