MAMMOTH POLICE RAIDS NET FIREARMS, AMMUNITION, DRUGS; THREE ARRESTED

Joint Operation in Armstrong, Gimli

Police seized weapons, ammunition and drugs during a pair of
simultaneous, high-risk raids Tuesday morning. One hundred officers
from the RCMP and Winnipeg Police Services descended on rural
properties in Armstrong and Gimli to execute search warrants at 11
a.m. Aug. 8.

Bomb disposal, emergency response, canine, identification and criminal
investigations units from each of the police services mounted the
largest coordinated police raid in the history of the Interlake.
Crisis negotiators from each of the services were also ready to go
into the fray, but were not required.

The targets of the raids included a property seven miles west of Hwy.
8, just north of PR 229 in the RM of Armstrong; and a property five
miles west of Hwy. 8, also just north of PR 229, this one in the RM of
Gimli.

Illegal firearms, ammunition and a quantity of drugs were seized at
the Gimli site. There were no seizures at the Armstrong site late
Tuesday afternoon, but a full search had yet to be conducted.

A 41-year-old male who lived at the Armstrong property was arrested
without incident in a parking lot in Komarno, while a man, 53, and a
38-year-old female were arrested at the Gimli site. Each of the three
was arrested without incident, police say.

There were other people at the Gimli site, but police declined to
confirm the number or ages of these people, who were released and not
believed to be subjects of the investigation.

Two helmeted police officers wearing black, bullet-proof jackets,
carrying sidearms and high-powered semi-automatic weapons, blocked the
highway entrance to the Gimli site, where undercover police officers,
city Emergency Response Unit officers and members of the Winnipeg
Police Service Identification Unit and Canine Unit were still at the
scene.

The unusual display of firepower and the well-strategized raids came
as the culmination of an eight-month investigation. Police were
circumspect about the links between the two properties, but said those
arrested may be involved in organized crime.

RCMP spokesman Staff Sgt. Steve Saunders said police brought
everything to bear in the raids to ensure the safety of all.

"Both sites were treated with the same caution," Saunders said. "Any
time weapons are involved and explosives are involved ... with that
level of risk it was important to make the sites safe for the
subsequent searches."

Winnipeg Police Service public information officer Const. Jacqueline
Chaput also cited the need to err on the side of safety. "We did
deploy a big amount of resources, but we thought safety was of the
utmost importance," Chaput said.

Police escorted a convoy of media vehicles to each of the sites just
after 5 p.m. Staff Sgt. Saunders and Const. Chaput offered few details
when pressed by reporters during a media conference at the edge of the
driveway of the Gimli property. Search teams and investigators had yet
to arrive, though the sites were being secured by containment teams.
Police said it would probably take two days to examine each of the
sites and catalogue whatever items may be seized as part of the
investigation.

"This is an ongoing investigation between the Winnipeg Police Service
and the RCMP. The intelligence has been shared all along, back and
forth," said Saunders. "We do believe the two sites are linked, and we
do believe there is a link with organized crime."