WINNIPEG – A man under a court order not to possess firearms is facing new charges after police found handguns, rifles and other items during a raid on a rural property southeast of Winnipeg.
Dozens of firearms were seized, including a semi-automatic assault rifle prohibited in Canada, along with thousands of rounds of ammunition during the Oct. 16 search of a property in the Rural Municipality of La Broquerie.
“These are not the weapons of an outdoor enthusiast,” RCMP Insp. Tyler Bates said Tuesday.
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“They are weapons that are used for criminal means and we’re happy to have them off the street.”
The Mounties have laid 49 charges against James Anthony Rush. The 37-year-old was prohibited from owning any firearms for 10 years after being convicted in a similar raid in 2003.
Some of the weapons in the latest raid had serial numbers which had been obliterated, Bates said. Police also seized high-capacity magazines that could have been used for other guns.
Rush is in custody pending his next court appearance.
In February 2003, Rush was one of three people charged in what’s believed to be the largest firearms seizure in Manitoba RCMP history. More than 190 firearms were taken from four locations in Winnipeg and the surrounding rural area.
The raid prompted the RCMP to ask for public tips on gun smuggling across the United States border.
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