RCMP seize guns and over $300,000 in stolen property in Shuswap raid

CHASE – A cache of guns and more than $300,000 worth of stolen property were seized by RCMP during a raid in the Shuswap last month.

Chase RCMP say on June 21 RCMP officers and members of the Natural Resource Officers Service executed a search warrant at a rural property in the 4000 block of Leopold Road near Scotch Creek looking for stolen Crown timber. Four people were detained, three men and a woman, and they were later released without charges.

Police say the search uncovered several stolen vehicles and vehicles with the vehicle identification numbers removed.

Officers also found firearms — some of which were prohibited — including a Norinco Mak-90 fully automatic rifle, a Sterling Mark 4 Sub Machine gun, a Smith & Wesson revolver with the serial number ground off, a drum magazine and a firearm fitted within a small suitcase.

"A mechanism was fashioned so a person holding the suitcase handle could activate a lever that would pull the trigger shooting the firearm," RCMP Cpl. Scott Linklater says in the release.

Police also found a stolen loader and other large items which were recovered when officers returned to the property on June 23.

RCMP provided a list of the recovered stolen property:

• A Woodmizer portable sawmill reported stolen to the Salmon Arm RCMP in September of 2018
• A 2017 Cargomate trailer reported stolen to the Langley RCMP in January of 2018
• A John Deere 3720 tractor with front end loader reported stolen to the Salmon Arm Detachment in May of 2011
• A 2000 Honda motorcycle reported stolen to the North Okanagan RCMP on June 16th, 2019
• A 2006 Dodge 1500 reported stolen to the Prince George RCMP on June 13th, 2019
• A 2015 Suzuki motorcycle reported stolen to the Abbotsford Police Department in November of 2017
• A 2008 Yamaha dirt bike reported stolen to the North Vancouver RCMP in November of 2017A 2014 KTM dirt bike reported stolen to the North Okanagan RCMP in June of 2018
• A 2007 Keystone Fifth Wheel camping trailer reported stolen to the Langley RCMP in September of 2015
• An Arctic Cat all-terrain side-by-side vehicle reported stolen to the Surrey RCMP in November of 2018
• A 2006 Gear toy hauler travel trailer reported stolen to the Ridge Meadows RCMP in February of 2019
• A Caterpillar loader with backhoe reported stolen to the Langley RCMP in January of 2017
• A John Deere Gator utility vehicle reported stolen to the Upper Fraser Valley RCMP in May of 2018
• A Cub Cadet riding lawn mower reported stolen to the Langley RCMP in June of 2017

"This investigation was a clear success for the Chase RCMP," Linklater said.

"Not only were we able to work with a partner agency to recover property that had been stolen from across British Columbia, but we were also able to safely remove a number of illegal firearms preventing them from potentially being used in future crimes."

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