Maxime Paquette — one of Quebec’s most wanted suspects, sought in connection with a massive data breach at Mouvement Desjardins financial group — has been arrested in Mexico, the Sûreté du Québec announced on Thursday.
Paquette, 40, who had been sought by local authorities since June 2024 in connection with the theft from the financial institution of personal information of nearly 10 million clients between 2017 and 2019, was in the resort city of Cancun when he was arrested, the provincial force said in a statement.
He will remain in the custody of Mexican authorities pending his extradition to Canada, where he faces charges of fraud, identity theft and trafficking in other people’s identities.
The SQ refused to make any comment on the arrest on Thursday. However, their acknowledgments and thanks to those who assisted in the investigation suggest it was a large-scale operation. The acknowledgments extend to Interpol, Quebec City police, the Mexican navy, Mexico’s criminal investigation agency and the Cancun State Security Secretariat.