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Montreal police say they seized 23 illegal guns in Quebec in the last week in a bid to tackle the issue of rising gun violence in the province.
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On Wednesday alone, authorities say they seized five firearms and $80,000 in illegal cash from vehicles and residences in Montreal North, Saint-Leonard, Boisbriand on the south shore and the Laurentians.
Police say six suspects were also arrested during the operation.
The suspects were targeting a man who had recently moved out of the apartment but who they believed still lived there. Police say the suspects are all between the ages of 17 and 20.
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The other 18 firearms were all seized as of last Wednesday from residences in the Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve and Rivière-des-Prairies–Pointe-aux-Trembles boroughs.
This comes as the Quebec government recently announced it was creating a mixed unit of provincial and Montreal police to fight the gun violence issue in the province’s largest city.Quebec’s Public Security Minister Geneviève Guilbault said the unit would be permanent and dedicated to reducing gun trafficking. READ MORE: Montreal mayor says gun violence must stop after triple homicide in city’s east end