The greater Montreal area has witnessed a notable increase in arsons in recent months, with restaurants, cafés and vehicles the frequent targets.
Police and other law enforcement experts say most of the fires are likely tied to extortion attempts by organized crime.
“The first common denominator is there’s probably organized crime involved,” André Gélinas, a retired Montreal police sergeant-detective, said Tuesday in an interview.
Gélinas, a former intelligence officer, said some of the fires could be connected to turf wars — notable examples in Montreal occurred among pizzerias and towing companies, he said. But what’s very likely is that most of the cases involve protection rackets, he added….