Dave “Pik” Turmel, the country’s most wanted fugitive and the alleged head of the Blood Family Mafia (BFM) in Quebec, has been arrested in Italy, police say.
The 29-year-old was taken into custody on March 27 by police in Rome, Italy, after being on the run for more than a year.
Turmel was arrested in a “hospitality facility” after an alert was sent by Interpol, said a March 28 statement from Italy’s national police force, Polizia di Stato.
“The officers raided the holiday home where the 29-year-old was staying and he handed them a fake passport as identification,” police said in a March 28 press release.
“Drugs, several SIM cards and a diary containing various accounting figures in French and Arabic were seized from the house.”
Turmel has been wanted by the Quebec City Police Service since July of 2023 on charges of substance trafficking, conspiracy, and assault with a weapon.
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He is also suspected of being instrumental in a street gang turf war during which victims have been tortured and murdered, Quebec City police said in a December 2024 press release. Some of the graphic torture sessions have been shared on social media platforms, they said.
Turmel has topped Canada’s 25 most wanted list since last year. A $250,000 reward was issued for information that led to his arrest by the BOLO program, which stands for Be On the Look Out. The charity amplifies priority wanted notices, working alongside the RCMP, various Canadian police services, and Crime Stoppers.
Quebec City Police Chief Denis Turcotte described Turmel and the BFM in the press release as being “willing to do anything to take control of drug trafficking, not only in Quebec City, but throughout eastern Quebec.”
Police in Quebec City initiated a raid in the summer of 2023 in the hopes of arresting Turmel and his suspected right-hand man, 31-year-old Roobens Denis. Neither were located during the operation, but seven other people were arrested in connection with drug trafficking, conspiracy to traffic drugs, assault, threats, and various firearms-related offences.
Two of Turmel’s suspected associates have since been apprehended.
Denis was arrested in a hotel in Portugal’s capital city last year. He was extradited back to Canada to appear in a Quebec court on several drug-trafficking charges.
Another suspected associate of Turmel, 28-year-old Guillaume St-Louis Bernier, was taken into custody by the RCMP in Kelowna, B.C., last June following a police stop. He was wanted by Quebec City police in connection with drug trafficking and receiving stolen goods
Another suspected accomplice of Turmel remains at large, however. All Boivin, the second most-wanted fugitive on the BOLO list, is wanted by Sûreté du Québec for trafficking, conspiracy to traffic, and possession for the purpose of trafficking.
He is also suspected of being involved in several criminal activities that are currently under active investigation by multiple law enforcement agencies.
A $250,000 reward was posted for tips leading to his arrest.
