MEDIA RELEASE: Revealing a dark side of Montréal’s history – Kings of Coke, a new true crime documentary, premieres on Crave November 7

From award-winning investigative journalist, author, and filmmaker Julian Sher and  co-produced by Montréal’s URBANIA and Connect3 Media comes the Crave Original documentary Kings of Coke, a feature true crime documentary that chronicles the rise of one of North America’s biggest criminal organizations along with the cops and journalists who relentlessly pursued its three leaders. Set to premiere on Crave on November 7, and available to audiences in English and French, the documentary tells this virtually unknown side of Montréal’s criminal history through an homage to the classic film noir crime genre with distinct elements of a pulp fiction graphic novel.

For decades Montreal’s Irish Mafia ran a cocaine trafficking network that sparked murders, mayhem, and corruption at the highest level of law enforcement. The West End Gang controlled the Montréal port that was central to the booming cocaine trade and became powerful enough to deal on an equal footing with the Hells Angels and Italian Mafia.

Based on the book Montreal’s Irish Mafia by journalist and author D’Arcy O’Connor, Kings of Coke is a  searing look at Montreal as Sin City and the men who put it on the global crime map. The documentary reveals an astonishing cast of real-life underworld characters and shines a new light on the global narcotics trade and how it permeates and corrupts communities around the world.

“Montreal has always had a reputation as a crime capital, but few people know the story of how a ragtag group of bank robbers and thieves rose to become international drug kingpins. We hear from the crooks and the cops who tried to take them down. And we reveal how they corrupted the justice system — with tragic consequences that left a trail of blood and bodies,” said Julian Sher, Director, Kings of Coke.

The feature documentary film is co-produced by URBANIA Media and Connect3 Media and directed by Julian Sher. The Executive Producers are Philippe Lamarre and Pablo Salzman, and the Producers are André Barro, Annie Bourdeau, and Michael Kronish.

-30-