Charges have now been laid against a 63-year-old Tatla Lake man in connection with a massive firearms seizure.
Long time Tatla Lake resident Gerald Peter Kirby has been charged with 24 counts including possession for the purpose of weapons trafficking; weapons trafficking; unauthorized possession of a firearm; possession of a firearm knowing its possession is unauthorized and careless use of a firearm. Kirby has no previous criminal record.
Close to 200 firearms of various makes, models, and calibres, and tens of thousands of rounds of ammunition and prohibited devices were seized in a small Cariboo community of Tatla Lake. Some of the weapons seized include AR-type rifles, SKS semi-automatic rifles and handguns.
PHOTO GALLERY: Seized weapons
In early June, police received a tip the suspect may be trafficking guns.
A search of the suspect’s home led to the seizure.
Police say the weapons would have most likely ended up in the hands of B.C. gangs. Many of the guns are capable of firing rounds that could pass through vehicles, doors, walls and even body armour, and range from a few hundred dollars to several thousand dollars in street value.
Corporal Frank Grosspietsch with the RCMP’s National Weapons Enforcement Support Team said weapons of this nature are highly uncontrollable and pose “a significant risk for collateral damage.”
“It is currently unknown how the guns came into Canada and into the man’s possession, but it is believed that he likely legally purchased many of them in B.C. and across our country,” said Sgt. Lindsey Houghton with the unit.
MAP: The community of Tatla Lake, B.C.
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