New true crime documentary dives into Montreal's shady past (VIDEO)

It may not be evident these days, but organized crime is as synonymous with Montreal as bagels, churches, and hockey.

The momentous rise and fall of the city’s most notorious criminal enterprise is the subject of a new documentary coming to Crave this month. From award-winning investigative journalist and filmmaker Julian Sher, Kings of Coke tells the story of Montreal’s West End Gang, a band of thugs who quickly climbed the ranks of Montreal’s underworld.

Based on journalist D’Arcy O’Connor’s cult classic crime book Montreal’s Irish Mafia, the documentary reveals how a group of cops and reporters uncovered corruption at the highest level.

“Montreal is a character in this film. We really wanted to immerse our audience in the city’s past and remind them that crime, cocaine, and corruption don’t just happen in narco states,” Nick Rose, one of the film’s writers, told Daily Hive. “There are a lot of stories in this documentary that would be hard to believe if they were in a scripted film, but this is as real as it gets.”

Beginning in the 1950s, when Montreal was known as the “bank robbery capital of North America,” Kings of Coke gives viewers a never-before-seen glimpse into the city’s dark underbelly. Evidence of criminal activity through the decades is presented to audiences via multiple storytelling devices, including animation, archival footage, and exclusive interviews with those directly involved.

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“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,” said Sher, the film’s director, in a media release. “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.”

Kings of Coke premieres on Crave on November 7, and will be made available to audiences in both English and French.