Peterborough police say 13 firearms are missing from among the more than 2,000 that were stolen on the weekend and recovered in the Peel region this week.
The Peterborough Police Service on Thursday said an inventory check by Lakefield, Ont., manufacturer Savage Arms has determined that 13 of the small-calibre firearms are still missing following the theft of a truck and trailer early Sunday from the parking lot of a trucking company on Parkhill Road East.
Peel police located the truck in an industrial area in Brampton on Monday night and on Tuesday located the trailer and a cache of firearms in the area of Cantay Roads and Mavis Road, in Mississauga, about 17.5 kilometres south of the truck’s location.
The search for the suspects continues. Police said the suspects arrived in a four-door blue sedan that followed the tractor-trailer unit out of the yard around 3 a.m. Sunday.
Police called the theft an “isolated crime of opportunity” as the evidence showed the suspects earlier attempting to steal trucks from other commercial yards. Police on Tuesday said their investigation did not appear to connect the theft of the firearms to the ongoing protests across Ontario.
“Any unaccounted for firearms is concerning,” police said.
Savage Arms stated it would not comment further, citing the ongoing investigation. On Monday, chief executive Al Kasper told Global News the theft involved a shipping partner of his company located the village 15 kilometres north of the city.
Anyone with information can call the Peterborough Police Crime Line at 705-876-1122 x. 555 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.