Quebec provincial police made a significant breakthrough on Tuesday by apprehending three individuals involved in an elaborate counterfeit ID and credit card scheme that was dismantled last year. The operation involved the production of high-quality fake documents and identity theft.
Authorities arrested Evens Emile, aged 42, and Ralph-Isai Labady, 34, in the Montreal suburbs of Repentigny and Laval. They are facing charges related to the production of counterfeit documents and identity theft. Subsequently, Yusuf-Hakim Victory-Williams, 27, was also apprehended in Montreal on the same day.
The provincial police’s economic crimes division had conducted a raid in March 2025 at a clandestine document production lab on Chabanel Street in Montreal. According to Sgt. Valérie Beauchamp, the forged documents from the lab were of superior quality, making detection challenging without specialized equipment.
During the raid, law enforcement confiscated various items, including driver’s licenses, Canadian residency cards, Quebec health insurance cards, debit and credit cards, and social insurance cards. Some of the seized identification documents were of foreign origin, including from Great Britain.
It was revealed that 2,400 identities were stolen to create fake documents, with 1,900 individuals already notified about the theft by the provincial police. The operation involved the sale of forged documents for $250 to $300 each, with delivery typically within 24 to 48 hours.
Equipment such as embossing machines, punching machines, a laser engraver, specialized printers, and a laminator were seized during the operation. Additionally, boxes containing blank cards and holograms were also found.
The suspects had been operating since 2019, and despite the investigation beginning a year ago, the arrests marked a significant milestone in the case. All three individuals were expected to appear virtually at the courthouse in Joliette, Que., for their arraignment on Tuesday.
