The Searches Were Done in March and April and the Arrests Waited Until September: the Estrie Mixed Regional Squad Names Eight People Over an Organization It Says Controlled the Cocaine Trade in Magog, and Four Walk Out the Same Day (September 22, 2026)
The Sûreté du Québec published a release on Tuesday, September 22, 2026 announcing that officers of the Escouade régionale mixte de l’Estrie had arrested eight people that day. The investigation behind the arrests was opened in October 2025 and, in the force’s own words, targeted an organization that controlled the trafficking of cocaine in Magog. Three phases of searches were carried out in Waterloo, Bolton-Est, Magog and Sherbrooke over March and April 2026, producing more than three kilograms of cocaine, roughly 50,000 methamphetamine tablets, $125,000 in Canadian currency, and materiel and documents connected to drug trafficking. All eight of those arrested appeared the same day at the Sherbrooke courthouse on drug trafficking charges. Four are identified in the release as detained. The other four are not.
Five months between the last search and the first arrest
The interval is the structure of this file. The searches that produced the entire published seizure were done in March and April 2026. The arrests were made on September 22. Somewhere between five and six months separate the evidence from the handcuffs, and the release offers no account of what happened in between — no mention of analysis, no mention of a prosecutorial review, no mention of further investigative phases, and no indication that anything was seized after April.
The SQ also does not say whether any of the eight was arrested at the time of the searches and released, or whether all eight were at liberty throughout. For a file the force describes as targeting an organization that controlled a local cocaine market, that is a substantial blank.
Eight names, four in custody, no individual charges
The release publishes a list: Sébastien Carruthers, 35, detained; Paméla Perreault, 32; Nancy Perreault, 52; Carl Gaudette, 40, detained; Martin Nadeau, 48, detained; Miguel Lefebvre, 37, detained; Steven Gladu, 39; and Cynthia Beaudoin Charland, 40. Four of the eight are marked as detained. The other four carry no custody notation at all, which in the SQ’s usual practice means they were released to appear later.
What the release does not publish is which charge attaches to which person. Every one of the eight is described only as having appeared “pour des accusations en matière de trafic de stupéfiants” — on drug trafficking charges. There is no count for any individual, no distinction between simple trafficking and possession for the purpose, no conspiracy count named, and no gangsterism or criminal organization count mentioned despite the release’s own framing of the target as an organization.
Two of the eight share a surname. Paméla Perreault is 32 and Nancy Perreault is 52. The release does not state a relationship between them.
Four municipalities, one market
The searches ran across Waterloo, Bolton-Est, Magog and Sherbrooke — four Estrie municipalities spread across a considerable stretch of the Eastern Townships — but the market the SQ says the organization controlled is Magog alone. The release does not say which of the three search phases hit which municipality, which address produced the cocaine, which produced the 50,000 methamphetamine tablets, or which produced the $125,000. It gives no street, no building type and no file number.
Nor does it put a street value on anything. Fifty thousand methamphetamine tablets is a substantial figure for a regional file, and it arrives in the release without a dollar estimate or any statement about where the SQ believes they were manufactured or acquired.
The eight arrested
- Sébastien Carruthers, 35 — detained
- Paméla Perreault, 32 — no custody notation published
- Nancy Perreault, 52 — no custody notation published
- Carl Gaudette, 40 — detained
- Martin Nadeau, 48 — detained
- Miguel Lefebvre, 37 — detained
- Steven Gladu, 39 — no custody notation published
- Cynthia Beaudoin Charland, 40 — no custody notation published
What the release publishes — and what it does not
- Published: the arresting unit, the Escouade régionale mixte de l’Estrie; the date the investigation opened, October 2025; the stated target, an organization controlling the cocaine trade in Magog; three phases of searches in Waterloo, Bolton-Est, Magog and Sherbrooke in March and April 2026; seizure totals of more than 3 kg of cocaine, approximately 50,000 methamphetamine tablets, $125,000 in Canadian currency, and trafficking materiel and documents; eight names with ages; detention status for four of the eight; and the court appearance the same day at the Sherbrooke courthouse.
- Not published: the specific charges laid against any individual; any count totals; any address, street or premises; any file or occurrence number; any street value for any seizure; which of the three search phases produced which items; how many searches each phase comprised; whether any firearm was found; whether any accused was previously bound by a court order; any next court date; any relationship between the two accused sharing the surname Perreault; and why five months passed between the final searches and the arrests.
- Named organization: none. The SQ refers to “une organisation qui contrôlait le trafic de cocaïne à Magog” and does not identify it, name any criminal group, street gang or motorcycle club, or state any affiliation.
Timeline
- October 2025The Escouade régionale mixte de l’Estrie opens a drug trafficking investigation targeting what the Sûreté du Québec describes as an organization controlling the cocaine trade in Magog.
- March and April 2026Three phases of searches are carried out in Waterloo, Bolton-Est, Magog and Sherbrooke. They produce more than three kilograms of cocaine, approximately 50,000 methamphetamine tablets, $125,000 in Canadian currency, and materiel and documents tied to drug trafficking. The release does not break the seizures down by phase or municipality.
- May to September 2026No investigative activity is described in the release. Nothing is published about what happened in the five months between the last search and the arrests.
- September 22, 2026Eight people are arrested: Sébastien Carruthers, Paméla Perreault, Nancy Perreault, Carl Gaudette, Martin Nadeau, Miguel Lefebvre, Steven Gladu and Cynthia Beaudoin Charland. Carruthers, Gaudette, Nadeau and Lefebvre are detained.
- September 22, 2026All eight appear the same day at the Sherbrooke courthouse on drug trafficking charges. No individual charge list is published.
- September 22, 2026The Sûreté du Québec publishes the release, hours after the arrests.
What the mixed regional squads are
The release closes by restating what an ERM is: a mixed squad made up of the Sûreté du Québec and various municipal police forces, formed to pool resources against organized crime across every region of Quebec. The SQ does not name which municipal forces contributed officers to the Estrie squad on this file, and does not name the investigator or spokesperson behind it. No officer is quoted anywhere in the release. The only contact given is the force’s criminal information centre line for anonymous tips about drug trafficking or production.
Lead unit; opened the file in October 2025 and made the arrests
Issued the release; anchors the mixed regional squad
Where all eight appeared on September 22, 2026
Sources
- Sûreté du Québec, “ESTRIE — 8 arrestations en matière de lutte au trafic de stupéfiants,” date de diffusion 22 septembre 2026 — sq.gouv.qc.ca
None of the charges described here has been tested in court and all eight accused are presumed innocent. The Sûreté du Québec has not named any criminal organization, street gang or outlaw motorcycle club in connection with this file, and none is attributed here. Translations from the French-language release are the writer’s own.