A Man Was Gunned Down In A Laval Parking Lot & It Was Reportedly Connected To Organized Crime

A 66-year-old man was found murdered in a Laval parking lot off Highway 440 on Tuesday morning. The victim had been shot repeatedly in the upper body.

Laval police said the man was pronounced dead on the scene soon after officers arrived. Authorities set up a command post nearby to gather information from anyone who may have witnessed the crime or activity leading up to it.

A burned-out Honda SUV, possibly linked to the case, was found near the Lachapelle Bridge, a few kilometres from the parking lot where the body was found.

Multiple reports suggest the case is linked to organized crime and that the victim is Vincenzo Armeni, a convicted cocaine trafficker with ties to the mob.

Armeni would have been on parole after serving two-thirds of a 19-year sentence behind bars, one of the longest drug-related prison sentences issued in Quebec.

In 2005, a judge said the man had trafficked "at least 10% of all drugs seized across the country that year and that its quality was among the purest on the market."

Due to the potential mafia link, the case has been transferred to the Sûreté du Québec. No arrests have yet been made.

The incident marks the ninth recorded murder in Laval this year.

This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.