Quebec provincial police are trying to find Francis Boucher, the son of notorious Hells Angels leader Maurice (Mom) Boucher, after he was mistakenly released from a Montreal detention centre.

Quebec's Public Security Ministry says Boucher was released from the Bordeaux jail in Montreal around 11 a.m on Monday by mistake.

Public Security Minister Lise Thériault condemned the error and said authorities were making "every effort" to apprehend Boucher.

"An event like this is totally unacceptable. Our priority now is to find this individual as quickly as possible. Rest assured that every effort is being made. Correctional Services, the Public Security Ministry, the Sûreté du Québec and municipal police forces are working together in order to find the individual who is unlawfully at large," she said in a statement issued by her office late Monday.

Boucher is 39 years old, has grey hair, stands five feet 10 inches and weighs 165 pounds.

He was arrested and charged in December for uttering threats against police officers, and sentenced on March 10 to four months in jail.

His father, biker boss Maurice (Mom) Boucher, was found guilty in 2002 in the shooting deaths of two prison guards. He is serving a life sentence in the maximum-security wing of the federal penitentiary in Sainte-Anne-des-Plaines, Que.

Police are asking anyone who sees Francis Boucher to call 911 and not to approach him.

Heightened security

Last June, three inmates from the Orsainville Detention Centre in suburban Quebec City made a brazen escape using a helicopter.

Two inmates made a similar jailbreak from a St-Jérôme, Que., jail in March 2013.

Thériault said it's time to beef up security in Quebec's jails.

"Following my recent visits to facilities in Montreal and St-Jérôme ... I had asked the authorities of the Public Security Ministry to analyze different scenarios to increase security in our institutions, including the setup of a biometric recognition system," Thériault's statement said.