The West End Gang is one of Canada's most influential criminal groups. Active since the early 1900s, their rise to notoriety began in the 1960s, when they were known simply as the "Irish gang" and their criminal activites were focused in the west side of Montreal. Most of the gang's earnings derived from truck hijacking, home invasions, kidnapping, and armed robbery.
The Irish-dominated mob expanded its rackets in the 70s to include drugs. They began to import large quantities of hashish and cocaine and developed important contacts in the United States, South America, and Europe. Members also operated in Florida.
The gang, along with the Montreal Mafia and Hells Angels, make up the "Consortium"
(similar to New York City's "Commission"). Together, the organization's three leaders fix the prices of drugs for both the wholesale and retail market. Most of the drugs are smuggled into the United States, the world's largest drug market, and the rest is sold through the province.
Police have estimated that between 1976 and 1991 the West End Gang had trafficked more than 10 000 kilograms of cocaine and more than 300 tons of hashish, with an estimated value of $80 billion on the black market!
Montreal police estimate that the West End Gang currently consists of approximately 125 to 150 individuals. The group does not have a Mafia-like hierarchy. It is loosely-connected, with captains heading different factions. The group often collaborates with the Montreal Mafia and the Hells Angels in enormous drug shipments and remains one of the most powerful and profitable criminal organizations in the country.
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