Canada’s most wanted: Quebec street gang leader arrested in Rome hideout

MONTREAL – Canada’s most wanted fugitive has been arrested in Italy after more than a year at large.

Dave (Pik) Turmel, alleged by police to be the head of Quebec street gang Blood Family Mafia, was arrested in Rome on Thursday after local police were tipped off about his presence in the Italian capital.

Quebec City police are holding a news conference this afternoon about Turmel’s capture.

In a news release today, Italian authorities say police burst into a vacation home where a 29-year-old fugitive wanted in Canada gave himself up and handed police a fake passport.

The Bolo program, operated by a Canadian charity in partnership with the country’s police forces, lists Turmel as its No. 1 most wanted criminal, sought by Quebec City police for drug trafficking.

He is accused of forming an alliance with independent drug dealers leading a bloody turf war in Quebec City and the eastern part of the province against the Hells Angels.

Quebec City police have sought the 29-year-old Turmel since July 2023 as part of an operation that began in February 2019 to counter an increase in violence linked to drug trafficking.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 28, 2025.