Quebec provincial police arrested a 37-year-old man and a 32-year-old woman during a drug operation in Shawinigan on 5 November 2026.[1] Both were released afterwards and are due to appear at a later date at the Shawinigan courthouse.[1] They could face charges under the Cannabis Act, drug offences, money laundering and offences under the Tobacco Tax Act.[1]

Officers carried out five searches, at three addresses in Shawinigan and two warehouses in Trois-Rivières.[1] The searches yielded more than 100 kilograms of edible cannabis, more than 64 kilograms of dried cannabis and more than 129 kilograms of concentrated cannabis.[1] Police also seized more than 9 kilograms of hashish and more than 125 electronic cigarettes containing THC.[1] The same search also produced more than 126,000 methamphetamine tablets, more than 280 grams of cocaine, more than 116,000 contraband cigarettes and more than 113,000 prescription pills.[1]

Police seized more than C$70,000 in Canadian cash, two conducted-energy weapons and two vehicles as offence-related property.[1] The operation was run by the Sûreté du Québec’s contraband investigations service, with officers from the SQ’s Shawinigan detachment and the Trois-Rivières police service.[1] Radio-Canada reported that the operation targeted smuggling of illicit cannabis.[2]

Zone911 and Radio-Canada reported that the investigation began after police received information from the public.[2] Zone911 reported the operation fell under ACCES-Cannabis, a 2018 Quebec programme against cannabis contraband coordinated by the public security ministry.[3]

Mon La Tuque described the operation as a crackdown on illicit cannabis contraband in Shawinigan.[4]