Quebec provincial police arrested 14 people from the construction industry in a major operation Wednesday morning.

The 14 people were taken into custody on suspicion of tax evasion and financial fraud.

Police make an arrest in a residential neighborhood in Laval, Que., on Wednesday morning. (CBC)More than 100 police officers, with help from Quebec revenue agency employees, were involved in the arrests, which took place at a dozen homes and businesses in Montreal and its northern suburb of Laval.

"Essentially, the scheme involved construction firms who would obtain false invoices, and these false invoices were subsequently exchanged to cash, which was used to pay employee salaries," provincial police spokesman Daniel Thibodeau said.

Using these allegedly fraudulent methods, the network of construction companies cashed cheques totalling $27 million, Quebec's revenue agency alleged.

Police said charges of tax evasion and financial fraud could be laid in the coming days.

The arrests, which began early in the morning, were the result of an investigation conducted in 2008. They were not made by the same police squad investigating headline-making allegations of criminal corruption in the construction industry.