By Canadian Press

30 cars set ablaze in Montreal, latest in a string of arsons targeting businesses

May 16, 2023 | 10:49 AM

Montreal police are investigating after more than two dozen vehicles were set ablaze this morning in an industrial sector of a southwestern borough.

They are the latest fires in a spate of arson cases across the greater Montreal area this year targeting vehicles and businesses.

Const. Véronique Dubuc says police have not ruled out a link between today’s cases, in which a total of 30 vehicles were torched in two separate lots not far from each other in the Lachine borough.

Montreal police chief Fady Dagher says police are investigating a string of arsons targeting Lebanese cafés, whose owners are being allegedly punished for refusing to submit to extortion attempts. 

Dagher says the alleged arsonists who have been caught were often acting on behalf of others, adding that investigators are trying to figure out who is issuing the orders.

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Montreal police say they have noted an uptick in arson cases this year, with 193 cases and 30 arrests between January and April, compared to 120 cases and 20 arrests over the same period one year ago.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 16, 2023.

The Canadian Press