Motel St-Jacques raided: Montreal police call it a hotbed for sex work, drugs and violence [Video]

Residents of Montreal’s Motel St-Jacques have been given a week and a half to leave following a major police raid Thursday.

Montreal police say for years, the hotel was a hotbed for sex work, drugs and violence.

“We were in there for two hours, and in one room there were four people who were completely out of it,” said Montreal police commander Stephane Desroches.

The raid caught residents by surprise.

“They turned around, saw me in my window and started telling us to come out,” said resident Angela Michelle.”They handcuffed me.”

Shawn Wilson has lived with his wife and daughter at the motel for nearly three years.

“It’s the cheapest, [most] run-down motel there is, but it’s all I could get under my budget,” he said, adding that during the raid, police, “took my door right off and basically ushered me and three other people who were in my room out.”

Police arrested the motel’s owner on drug allegations.