Image Credit: FILE PHOTO
June 22, 2018 - 7:55 AM
KAMLOOPS - Multiple people have been arrested and firearms have been seized after a traffic stop in Kamloops.
Staff Sgt. Simon Pillay, head of the Kamloops RCMP serious crime unit, says in a news release officers have intensified the investigation of groups suspected of using illegal firearms following recent shootings in Kamloops.
The detachment's crime reduction unit conducted a traffic stop yesterday evening, June 21, which led to the arrest of two men and the seizure of drugs and firearms. Pillay describes the weapons as a handgun with a silencer, an assault rifle and a rifle. A 32-year-old Kamloops man and a 31-year-old Blackpool man were arrested.
The investigation led to a home on Linden Avenue, Pillay says, where the suspects are believed to have come from. During the early morning hours of today, June 22, the RCMP executed a search warrant with the assistance of the RCMP's emergency response team.
"When we pursue suspects who are known to be armed, specialized support is regularly used to ensure we give ourselves the highest possibility of a peaceful outcome. The mandate of the ERT is to assist in the successful resolution of dangerous situations, thereby enhancing public safety," Pillay says in the release.
The search warrant led to the arrests of a 35-year-old woman and a 33-year-old woman, both from Kamloops. Another man was detained and released at the scene. Pillay says trafficking quantities of drugs were seized.
"This residence had previously been identified as a suspected location for drug trafficking activities and had been under investigation," Pillay says in the release. "Once it became clear that they were also using firearms, they made themselves our priority target."
The investigation is ongoing. If you have any information on illegal firearms, drug trafficking or related violence, call Kamloops RCMP at 250-828-3000 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
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