From: owner-can-firearms-digest@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca (Cdn-Firearms Digest) To: cdn-firearms-digest@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca Subject: Cdn-Firearms Digest V5 #769 Reply-To: cdn-firearms-digest@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca Sender: owner-can-firearms-digest@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca Errors-To: owner-can-firearms-digest@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca Precedence: normal Cdn-Firearms Digest Friday, February 14 2003 Volume 05 : Number 769 In this issue: [Fwd: Open letter to the Justice Minister] ...adding up the numbers.... Astute get it off the streets RCMP RAIDS NET ARSENAL SEIZE 197 FIREARMS AT FOUR RESIDENCES COP CRITIC FIGHTS GUNPLAY Mounties make biggest-ever gun bust Robbery suspects had been deported twice Suspects in armed heist deported three times: After firing bullets through his apartment walls, man surrenders ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 14 Feb 2003 08:23:59 -0600 (CST) From: Al Muir Subject: [Fwd: Open letter to the Justice Minister] This was sent cc to all the newspapers Date: Thu, 13 Feb 2003 15:43:15 -0400 From: Al Muir Subject: Open letter to the Justice Minister Dear Sir, I am writing to inform you that I do not have a firearms license and I am in possession of a 308 lever action Browning rifle at my home address. I have previously informed the RCMP in Ottawa on January 1/03 of this fact and provided them with my name, address and phone number. No action was taken on this matter. I was required to have a license on January 1/01. I have not taken steps to obtain a license and have no intention of doing so. Considering your stated support of the program in the House of Commons and continued expenditures on it I am at a loss to understand why I have not been charged for this violation of the law. It is my understanding that criminal law must be applied evenly to all citizens. Therefor I would like you to tell me how others can be prosecuted for this infraction if I am not? I have been and will contine to speak at public meetings informing people that your department refuses to uphold the firearms act even though enormous amounts of funds have been and continue to be spent on the program. It would appear under these circumstances there is no necessity for anyone to have a license. The grace period for registration does not apply in my case as the rifle has been illegally in my possession for over 2 years. Please direct the RCMP to charge me for my infraction of the law or explain to the public why you no longer support the law and outline how you intend to dismantle the law you are not enforcing. Respectfully yours, Al Muir 4914 East River East Side Road (Plymouth) Stellarton, Nova Scotia 1-902-752-7877 ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Feb 2003 08:24:58 -0600 (CST) From: "Todd Birch" Subject: ...adding up the numbers.... Assigning the numbers to the word POLITICS = 103. Thats over the top. Now lets see, NEW WORLD ORDER = ...... Orwell would have loved this game. Todd Birch Merritt,BC ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Feb 2003 08:26:00 -0600 (CST) From: "Richard A. Fritze" Subject: Astute H: You were dead on re "unexplosive ammunition components" - but couldn't say it because of your other obligations [if I remember correctly]. I posted that to the CFD - it got some attention - but I expect it still is on their agenda or proposed legislation. If true, reloaders and all shooters should be screaming to their MPs. Richard A. Fritze Barrister & Solicitor Tel. (780) 941 3809 www.fritze.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Feb 2003 08:26:53 -0600 (CST) From: "Trigger Mortis" Subject: get it off the streets >were > Subject: RCMP RAIDS NET ARSENAL SEIZE 197 FIREARMS AT FOUR RESIDENCES PUBLICATION: The Winnipeg Sun DATE: 2003.02.14 EDITION: Final SECTION: News PAGE: 4 ILLUSTRATION: 2 photos by Marcel Cretain 1. The RCMP's John Fleming displays one of the weapons seized. 2. Handguns seized during the raids. BYLINE: CARY CASTAGNA, POLICE REPORTER - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- RCMP RAIDS NET ARSENAL SEIZE 197 FIREARMS AT FOUR RESIDENCES - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Three Manitoba men are facing numerous firearms-related charges after RCMP seized 197 guns in four raids this week. Although the suspects, who are friends, have no known links to organized crime or gang activity, one of them is accused of weapon trafficking. "Illegal guns, be it one or one thousand, is a concern to law enforcement," RCMP staff Sgt. John Fleming told reporters yesterday. "They end up in armed robberies. They end up in home invasions." Acting on information from an unnamed source in Steinbach, the RCMP Customs and Excise Section launched an extensive investigation last fall into the illegal possession, sale and importation of firearms and firearms parts. 78 HANDGUNS With the assistance of the National Weapons Enforcement Support Team, RCMP executed search warrants on Tuesday at four residences: 179 Enfield Cres. in St. Boniface, 192 St. Anthony St. in West Kildonan, 416 Hospital St. in Steinbach and a farm southeast of Steinbach. Mounties seized 87 rifles, 32 shotguns, 78 handguns, 58 gun parts -- including magazines and trigger mechanisms -- and thousands of rounds of ammunition. RCMP have already started the arduous process of tracing the weapons one by one to determine whether they are prohibited or improperly registered. Police suspect some of the weapons may have been smuggled into the country from the United States. The investigation is expected to last at least another several weeks. James Anthony Rush, 28, of Steinbach, has been charged with possession of a prohibited weapon, weapon trafficking and possession of a weapon for the purpose of trafficking. Adam Christopher Morash, 31, of Enfield Crescent, and Bradley Jonathon Giesbrecht, 34, of St. Anthony Ave., have been charged with possession of a prohibited device and careless storage of a firearm. It's the third substantial weapons bust in the past several months. Henry Rutkowski, 52, was charged with 91 firearms-related offences last month after police seized 26 weapons from his St. Boniface home. And Terry Gale, 62, was charged with 85 gun-related offences in November after cops confiscated 335 weapons from his Fort Rouge home. Fleming called the three recent busts "coincidental." "This is the nature of our business," he said, adding cops haven't suddenly targeted gun owners. However, RCMP are always looking for tipsters. Anyone with information on the illegal movement of commodities across the border -- including the illegal possession, importation and sale of firearms - -- is asked to call CrimeStoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or the RCMP Customs and Excise Section at 983-5423. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Feb 2003 08:29:33 -0600 (CST) From: "Breitkreuz, Garry - Assistant 1" Subject: COP CRITIC FIGHTS GUNPLAY PUBLICATION: The Ottawa Sun DATE: 2003.02.14 EDITION: Final SECTION: News PAGE: 8 BYLINE: ANDREW SEYMOUR, OTTAWA SUN - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- COP CRITIC FIGHTS GUNPLAY - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- A police critic is concerned that a sharp increase in the number of times Ottawa officers have drawn their firearms could lead to more serious injuries or deaths. "The minute a police officer pulls their gun, all of a sudden you've upped your chances someone is going to die," Ottawa lawyer Lawrence Greenspon said yesterday. Ottawa police statistics show that over the past three years, officers are drawing their guns more and using other methods, like pepper spray and batons, less. Officers drew their guns 174 times last year, up 66% from 105 times in 2000. During the same 2000-2002 period, the use of batons by police dropped by almost half, from 22 to 12 instances, and the use of pepper spray declined 17%, from 70 times to 58. TASERS Since a pilot project began in June 2000, police tactical officers have used Tasers 48 times. "The rationale for the introduction of pepper spray was to minimize the number of times that officers felt that they had to pull their gun," Greenspon said. "It's a trend the community should be concerned about." Rosalind Conway, president of the Defence Counsel Association of Ottawa, said the hike is significant. "Anytime a gun is taken out, something can happen." Ottawa Police Services Board chairman Herb Kreling said he believes officers are justified when they draw a firearm. Kreling added that in order to get the wider picture, stats from more than just the past few years need to be compared. Police Chief Vince Bevan said the numbers are lower than in the late 1990s, when Ottawa police had fewer officers and less territory to cover. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Feb 2003 08:30:18 -0600 (CST) From: "Breitkreuz, Garry - Assistant 1" Subject: Mounties make biggest-ever gun bust PUBLICATION WINNIPEG FREE PRESS DATE : FRI FEB.14,2003 PAGE : A1 CLASS : City EDITION : - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mounties make biggest-ever gun bust 197 weapons seized in four separate raids - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bruce Owen It was an impressive haul -- 87 rifles, 32 shotguns, 78 handguns and 58 gun parts, plus thousands of rounds of ammunition. The largest firearm seizure ever made by Manitoba RCMP was displayed to the media yesterday as officers detailed a six-month investigation that ended Tuesday with four simultaneous raids. Three people have been charged with gun-related offences. It's believed some of the firearms were brought into Canada from the U.S. and sold illegally. Sgt. Steve Saunders noted this has been the third major weapons seizure in the province in recent months but he added police don't believe this is an emerging criminal pattern. "We think it's an anomaly ... it's not a trend," Saunders said. Saunders said that, unlike the seizures made by Winnipeg police in November, the RCMP do not see any connection to Tuesday's raid with organized crime, outlaw motorcycle gangs, or any other crime beyond the charges the individuals are facing. In mid-November, Winnipeg police raided a Fort Garry home and seized 335 firearms, mostly military assault weapons, machine guns and semi-automatic pistols. Police linked the owner to a machine gun held by a captive fugitive later that month and to an assault by a member of the local Hells Angels. In January, police raided a St. Boniface home and seized 26 firearms. Police had found 16 handguns, nine rifles, and one machine gun. In the most recent case, investigators are now tracing the paperwork behind the 197 firearms seized Tuesday to verify ownership and registration, said RCMP Staff Sgt. John Fleming, head of the Mounties' Customs and Excise Section in Winnipeg. Some of the firearms are surplus military weapons. None was fully automatic. Police described the three suspects arrested on Tuesday as acquaintances who had a common interest in gun collecting and target shooting. Some of the guns seized were stored properly, with trigger locks and kept separately from ammunition. The locations of the raids were a house on Enfield Crescent in St. Boniface, an apartment at St. Anthony Avenue and Main Street, a farm southeast of Steinbach and a house in the 400 block of Hospital Street in Steinbach. One of the suspects said the RCMP raid at his house caught him by surprise and that he did not know the other accused. He also said he believed his firearms will be returned to him as he had done nothing wrong. Numerous charges James Anthony Rush, 29, has been charged with one count each of possession of a prohibited weapon, weapon trafficking and possession of a weapon for the purpose of trafficking. Adam Christopher Morash, 31, has been charged with one count each of possession of a prohibited device (a magazine which holds ammunition) and careless storage of a firearm. Bradley Jonathon Giesbrecht, 34, has been charged with one count each of possession of a prohibited device and careless storage of a firearm. Police said the paperwork trail may take weeks to sift through as each firearm must be traced. Further charges are pending. Although allegations that some of the guns may have been smuggled into Manitoba from the U.S. have not been proven, RCMP appealed to the public to help them track smugglers of many items, including guns, drugs, alcohol and tobacco. "We've got 500 kilometres of unmanned border in Manitoba," Fleming said. "Are these things moving there? Of course." Fleming also said there is evidence some cross-border smuggling in North America is being run by organized crime groups -- some linked to al-Qaida, an international terrorist network led by Osama bin Laden. "Organized crime and terrorists derive their money from illegal sources," he said. "If you see something you think is illegal, phone us." (Tipsters are encouraged to call RCMP at 983-5423 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477). Fleming added while there is no evidence to suggest international terrorists are operating in Manitoba, police do have information that "small pockets of criminality" regularly smuggle cigarettes, liquor and firearms into the province from the U.S. There's also evidence more and more criminals are smuggling diamonds instead of cash, as diamonds are more easily concealed. The purpose of tobacco and liquor smuggling is to avoid taxes while gun smuggling is mostly connected to criminal activity. bruce.owen@freepress.mb.ca PHOTO MARC GALLANT/WINNIPEG FREE PRESS ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Feb 2003 08:31:10 -0600 (CST) From: "Breitkreuz, Garry - Assistant 1" Subject: Robbery suspects had been deported twice PUBLICATION GLOBE AND MAIL DATE: FRI FEB.14,2003 PAGE: A1 BYLINE: CLASS: National News EDITION: Metro DATELINE: WORDS: 599 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Robbery suspects had been deported twice - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Toronto police are outraged that two Jamaicans accused of a violent robbery and hostage-taking this week had been deported from Canada on several previous occasions. "I think it's disgusting," said Detective Sergeant Wilf Townley of the holdup squad. "There's a sieve that allows these guys to run in and out of this country. We were going to call these guys the yo-yo bandits because they've been in and out of Canada so often." The police and the courts are doing their jobs but "it all falls down after that," said Det. Sgt. Townley, referring to the immigration system. He said that Police Chief Julian Fantino, who has been visiting Jamaica this week, is well aware of the problem. "Somebody has to be held accountable for all these people coming back in." Det. Sgt. Townley told a news conference at police headquarters that it is becoming increasingly common for criminals to reappear in Canada after being deported and he claimed that in Toronto alone there were thousands of people living illegally after returning from their home countries. But Toronto-based Immigration Department spokesman Rejean Cantlon said "the number of such cases are very small when seen in the context of the millions of people who come into Canada every year." The police news conference was held a day after two armed men surrendered to police after being holed up in a northwest-end video store with several hostages. Earlier, the heavily armed men, wearing bulletproof vests, overpowered guards in an armoured truck making a cash delivery to a bank. When their getaway car wouldn't start, they fled on foot to the video store. One store employee managed to call police. After the store was surrounded by emergency task force police and police from nearby divisions, the men gave themselves up. "It was hopeless for them," Det. Sgt. Townley said. He wondered what the community reaction would have been if the armoured vehicle guards, police or hostages had been shot. "What would have happened then?" He said the potential for gunplay was high because the suspects were armed with a fully loaded 9 mm handgun and a fully loaded .223 calibre assault rifle. Police also recovered other firearms, bulletproof vests, balaclavas and the stolen cash in the store's basement. They recognized the duo after they were arrested. They had both been convicted and imprisoned in the 1990s for armed robberies. On two separate occasions the two were deported after serving prison terms. Subsequently they re-entered Canada illegally and remained undetected until their capture. Late last year, police conducted early-morning raids to arrest violent and dangerous people subject to deportation. They were specifically targeting immigrants convicted of armed-robbery offences within the past two years. Police captured 35 people. "These criminals fit the criteria of danger to the public," Chief Fantino said at the time. "The issue for me is a simple one. Coming to Canada and staying here is not, nor should it be, an unconditional right. It is a privilege." Det. Sgt. Townley contrasted the ease with which "undesirables" enter Canada with the treatment of ordinary people. He said before boarding a plane to return to Canada he was photographed and fingerprinted and that when he arrived back home he was stopped by Customs because of a $10-watch he had bought. Dave Alfrancis Wilson, 32, and Esron Constantin Laing, 40, are facing 23 charges, including armed robbery and forcible confinement. theft; hostages Laing ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Feb 2003 08:31:47 -0600 (CST) From: "Breitkreuz, Garry - Assistant 1" Subject: Suspects in armed heist deported three times: PUBLICATION: National Post DATE: 2003.02.14 EDITION: National SECTION: News PAGE: A1 / Front BYLINE: Wojtek Dabrowski SOURCE: National Post DATELINE: TORONTOmethods; Customs and duties; Toronto ILLUSTRATION: Black & White Photo: Global TV / Toronto Police arrest oneof two suspects after an armoured vehicle was robbed in the northwest area of the city. The incident involved a hostage-taking and the use of armour-piercing ammunition. !@IMAGES=Black & White Photo: Global TV / Toronto Police arrest one of two suspects after an armoured vehicle was robbed in the northwest area of the city. The incident involved a hostage-taking and the use of armour-piercing ammunition. [3656-749.jpg]; - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Suspects in armed heist deported three times: Police: 'It's disgusting' (Toronto edition headline.); Thrice-deported men accused of armed robbery: 'Disgusting,' detective says: Men charged with hostage-taking have robbery convictions (All but Toronto edition headline.) - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- TORONTO - Two men charged with raiding an armoured car and holding several hostages at gunpoint on Wednesday had each been deported to Jamaica three times and have prior criminal records for armed robbery, Toronto police said yesterday. "I think it's disgusting," Detective Sergeant Wilf Townley of the holdup squad told reporters. "I think that there's a sieve that allows these people to run in and out of this country." Dave Wilson, 32, and Esron Laing, 40, face 23 charges in connection with the armed robbery of an armoured vehicle followed by a hostage-taking at a nearby adult video store. "Both these parties are known to us and have convictions for robbery before," Det. Sgt. Townley said. He added the police database lists both men as prohibited from carrying firearms or explosives. Messrs. Wilson and Laing were most recently deported in 2001, Det. Sgt. Townley said. When they were arrested this week, police say each had a counterfeit driver's licence and social insurance card. Police could not say how Mr. Wilson and Mr. Laing were able to enter Canada. Customs spokeswoman Colette Gentes-Hawn said, "Certainly we have the capacity to spot someone at the border who has been ordered deported." However, if someone uses a false name or documents, that would not show up on Customs' computers, she said. Identity theft has been one of the main focuses for Denis Coderre, the Immigration Minister, championing the issue of identity cards using biometric technology. Last month, Hillary Rodham Clinton, a Democratic Senator from New York, also criticized Canada for border deficiencies. At about 7 p.m. on Wednesday, two armed guards carrying a "fairly substantial amount of money" were at a Scotiabank branch in the city's northwest when they were ambushed by two gun-toting men, police said yesterday. One carried a 9-millimetre handgun, the other brandished a .223-calibre assault rifle. Both weapons had a round in the chamber and were ready to fire, Det. Sgt. Townley said. The assault rifle was loaded with armour-piercing ammunition. "These bullets will pierce police vests ... without a problem," Det. Sgt. Townley said. "If you have these in your gun, you are prepared to use them, and this concerns us immensely." The robbers took the guards' guns and the money and fled to the parking lot of a nearby plaza where their getaway car was waiting. However, it wouldn't start. They then entered a Mega Adult Video Store through the back entrance and took as many as three employees hostage, put on the employees' work clothes and told them to act as though nothing was wrong. One clerk, however, managed to call police, who quickly surrounded the store. After negotiations, the hostages were released unharmed and the bandits turned themselves in. Messrs. Wilson and Laing were arrested in connection with the robbery and face charges that include forcible confinement, armed robbery and numerous firearms charges. Police say the assault rifle was stolen in a home invasion in the Niagara region in 1998. All of the money, guns, bullet-proof vests and ski masks were recovered from the video store. Det. Sgt. Townley said Mr. Wilson served a sentence for a 1993 armed robbery of a restaurant and Mr. Laing received a 10-year sentence for robbing a bank in 1992 at gunpoint. However, Mr. Laing was released only four years into the sentence. Det. Sgt. Townley said screening procedures at entry points into Canada must be tightened because "there's thousands of people that have been deported from this country that are still back in here and wandering the streets in Toronto alone." ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Feb 2003 08:32:20 -0600 (CST) From: "Breitkreuz, Garry - Assistant 1" Subject: After firing bullets through his apartment walls, man surrenders PUBLICATION: Edmonton Journal DATE: 2003.02.14 EDITION: Final SECTION: CityPlus PAGE: B2 BYLINE: Keith Gerein SOURCE: The Edmonton Journal DATELINE: EDMONTON - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- After firing bullets through his apartment walls, man surrenders - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- EDMONTON - A man has been charged with several firearms offences after up to 20 bullets were fired through the walls of his south-side apartment. Police arrested the suspect early Thursday at his building at 10422 78th Ave. Residents reported hearing gunshots from a third-floor suite shortly before 6 a.m. When officers arrived several more shots were fired through the hallway walls from inside the suite, police said. Members of the tactical team took positions near the third-floor stairwells as Sgt. Chris Hayden, a police negotiator, made contact with the man over the phone. The man, who appeared intoxicated, allegedly told Hayden he had shot two people in the apartment. He then surrendered himself almost immediately, complying with the negotiator's instructions. Officers searched his suite and found he had been alone for the entire incident. No one in the building was injured by the gunfire. Richard Kuzyk, 51, has been charged with dangerous use of a firearm, careless storage of a firearm and unauthorized possession of a firearm. kgerein@thejournal.canwest.com ------------------------------ End of Cdn-Firearms Digest V5 #769 ********************************** Submissions: mailto:cdn-firearms-digest@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca Mailing List Commands: mailto:majordomo@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca Moderator's e-mail address: mailto:akimoya@sprint.ca List owner: mailto:owner-cdn-firearms@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca FAQ list: http://www.magma.ca/~asd/cfd-faq1.html and http://teapot.usask.ca/cdn-firearms/Faq/cfd-faq1.html Web Site: http://teapot.usask.ca/cdn-firearms/homepage.html FTP Site: ftp://teapot.usask.ca/pub/cdn-firearms/ CFDigest Archives: http://www.sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca/~ab133/ or put the next command in an e-mail message and mailto:majordomo@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca get cdn-firearms-digest v04.n192 end (192 is the digest issue number and 04 is the volume) To unsubscribe from _all_ the lists, put the next five lines in a message and mailto:majordomo@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca unsubscribe cdn-firearms-digest unsubscribe cdn-firearms-alert unsubscribe cdn-firearms-chat unsubscribe cdn-firearms end (To subscribe, use "subscribe" instead of "unsubscribe".) 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