Killing of Underworld Figure in Quebec Starbucks Suggests Transition to Bold Strategies, Say Organized Crime Analysts

The brazen midday assassination of a influential Montreal underworld figure inside a outlying Starbucks lately could signal a emerging, more volatile and reckless environment when it comes to organised crime, experts note.

Leadership Void Emerging

The arrests of suspected high-ranking, established members of the city's organized crime in June has likely resulted in a chasm – meaning emerging, less experienced gangs are striving to gain a foothold.

Violent Attack Particulars

Law enforcement stated at a news conference that they were called to a Starbucks in Laval, Quebec at about 10.30am on Wednesday because of reports of a violent incident inside the café. An individual was murdered and two more individuals were wounded.

Deceased Individual

While investigators have not verified the victim's name, several news organizations have indicated the man fatally shot was a previously found guilty narcotics dealer, four decades old, also known by an alias. The individual was the leader of a gang operating in the area.

Government Remarks

The province's security official said: "All evidence points to it being an act linked to organised crime."

The area's top officer told reporters that while he could not provide details on the case, he knows the man targeted due to his "reputation". "The individual was associated with organised crime," he said.

Criminal History

The targeted individual was first associated publicly to criminal activity in 2005 when police in Montreal apprehended him and multiple associates in a narcotics distribution operation. He eventually pleading guilty on drug-related charges and was given to 24 months in prison.

According to documents, the person was arrested for a subsequent occasion in 2009, again for narcotics distribution, and was subsequently sentenced to another five years in prison.

Professional Assessment

A university expert explained that underworld activities in the area used to be characterised around maintaining control over public violence and counted on a defined hierarchical structure.

An audacious public killing at a public establishment suggests there may not be a dominant force keeping order – as aggression could harm operations when it comes to narcotics distribution, commented the expert.

Structural Collapse

The professor said it is possible that the organization which targeted the gang leader simply "were unconcerned" about the open demonstration of violence in order to eliminate their quarry.

But the expert believes more plausible is there has been a erosion of structure and control within criminal networks in Montreal, related to significant apprehensions of the alleged chiefs of the city's organized crime made in June.

Leadership Arrests

After a multi-year probe, authorities arrested an suspected organized crime boss and charged him with homicide and other connected charges.

Present Circumstances

The recent apprehensions were viewed as the final "nail in the coffin" for the traditional organized crime, said the specialist.

It has left a hole that younger criminal groups are attempting to fill. The Wednesday's violence is an sign of an volatile, evolving landscape, he noted.

"We have kind of this plethora of lesser, not super well-organised gangs ... that are vying for power," he remarked.