Editor’s Note: Global News confirmed in February 2024 that the charges against the female suspect had been withdrawn.
A three-month investigation led RCMP to lay over 50 charges against two people and seize several stolen, restricted and prohibited firearms from a residence and storage locker.
Officers from the Spruce Grove/Stony Plain/Enoch detachment executed search warrants at a residence in Val Quentin and a storage locker in the Parkland County area on April 21.
RCMP seized firearms — including a sub-machine gun fitted with a suppressor, a .40-calibre carbine with a high-capacity drum magazine, two semi-automatic non-restricted rifles and an AR-15 style rifle fitted with a suppressor, as well as several drugs, including 18 grams of cocaine, 75 grams of meth and 21 litres of GHB, plus $10,000 in cash and stolen vehicles.
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“These are not hunting rifles,” Staff Sgt. Mike Lokken said. “In the hands of criminals, these weapons serve no legitimate purpose in our society.”
The majority of the weapons were found in the storage locker, RCMP said Monday.
“The amount of firearms and drugs we seized on this one operation alone posed a real and serious threat to the safety of Albertans,” Alberta RCMP commanding officer Todd Shean said.
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A 34-year-old man and a 27-year-old woman were arrested and charged in connection with the seizures.
Jeffery Russell is facing 50 charges, including possession of a stolen firearm, possession of a loaded restricted firearm, possession of a loaded prohibited firearm and possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking.
Russell was remanded into custody and will appear in court on May 2 in Stony Plain.
The 27-year-old woman was charged with possession of a prohibited device and possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000.
She was released from custody with conditions and was scheduled to appear in court on May 2 in Stony Plain. The charges against her were withdrawn in September of 2019.
Both individuals are known to police.