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Police seize grenades, cannon, machine guns in Eastern Ontario home

57Chevy

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                                  Article is shared with provisions of The Copyright Act

Police seize grenades, cannon, machine guns in Eastern Ontario home
CBC News 12 March
Former Mountie charged with a variety of weapons-related offences

A former RCMP officer has been charged after Ontario Provincial Police seized a massive cache of weapons — including machine guns, a cannon, grenades and thousands of rounds of ammunition — at a Bancroft, Ont., home.

The arsenal was found last week in two hidden compartments built into the walls of the house, located in the heart of cottage country, police said Tuesday.

"What this investigation tells us is that copious amounts of firearms and ammunition were collected, stored, and sometimes even created well away from big-city Ontario," Det. Insp. Patti Dobbin told a news conference Tuesday morning.

OPP and Durham Regional Police Service executed a search warrant on Spooks Bay Lane in Bancroft, Ont., on the morning of March 7. There, they found assault rifles, a Taser, crossbows, a fully-automatic shotgun, silencers, an 80-centimetre-long cannon and "tens of thousands" of rounds of ammunition, as well as landmines, grenades and detonator cords, police said.

Some of the assault rifles were homemade, police said. Some pistols had no serial numbers, and some firearms had the serial numbers removed.

"The assault rifles, the ARs, they have no markings on them at all," said Durham Regional Police Det. Jamie Derusha. "And that causes us a lot of concern."

Former RCMP officer arrested

David Alan Kift, 55, of Bancroft, has been charged with multiple counts of weapons-related offences, including illegal possession, manufacturing prohibited and restricted firearms, and illegal possession of ammunition and explosives, and breach of parole conditions. He has been remanded into custody.

Kift is a former RCMP officer who left the force in 1996, said Insp. Mario Lessard of the Durham Regional Police.

Kift was out on parole with a lifetime ban on possessing firearms when officers raided his secluded home, police say.

Marion Kift, a 53-year-old woman, also of Bancroft, has been charged with multiple counts of similar offences, police said. She appeared in court on Monday, and has been released with conditions after a bail hearing.

Both are facing hundreds of charges, police say.

"The allegation is the manufacturing, the alteration of these firearms," he said. "There is no possible reason why anybody would have such an arsenal of weapons."

Police received tip months ago

Typically, illegal weapons and ammunition are sourced elsewhere, such as the United States in trade for drugs in cash in connection with other criminal activities, said Dobbin. But in this case, these illegal activities were taking place "right in our own backyard."

"We take our families to these places with shared expectations of these remote cottage country surroundings, that are even more secure from major amounts of firearms, and even devices designed for use in times of war," she said.

The seizure comes months after police received information about a possible cache of weapons, said Lessard.

Police also received information that there was some trafficking of firearms, he added.

"This is a significant discovery and we are pleased that these weapons are now secure," said Lessard.

"As police officers, we never want to see this kind of firepower in one place. It tends to attract attention and could be the target of criminals who want these weapons for their illegal activities."

photos and video at link
 
He's written a book as well, through xLibris, a self-publishing outfit:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Naked-Mountie-David-Kift/dp/1479728896#reader_B00A0QXDV2

 
Not to be a jerk, but were any of these weapons registered?

Somehow I doubt it.
 
Jim Seggie said:
Not to be a jerk, but were any of these weapons registered?

Maybe they were at one time.  Probably not any more, certainly once the serial numbers were removed.  But, I'm simply speculating - and that is bad.
 
Looked at the photos a bit....a couple of suppositions that I can draw.

1.  BREN.  Looks like it may have been de-watted (based on weld marks on barrel latch) not sure if it's still dewat, but it has a visual presence in the photos, does it not?

2.  M-16 family of weapons (FOW).  there is a photo on the police website in which you can clearly see a green-furniture'd M-16FOW type rifle barrel down in a wall cavity....and you can also clearly see the pin for the Auto Sear/trip lever in it, so it's a Full Auto.  He also has two other M-16 type rifles, both "in the white" (unfinished/unpainted/anodized receivers) which appear to be home-built.  Home built receivers are not an issue, so long as they're registered, and built to AR-15 specifications as Semi-Auto only, (and registered with the CFC/RCMP through your CFO once you have the "Intent" to make the piece of metal into a receiver.)  The problem being, this guy has a history, which includes a firearms prohibition....so there's no-way that he's got those receivers legally registered. 

3.  STEN(s).  There's a series of STEN based firearms present.  You cannot tell externally if they're open or closed bolt operation, and there are legal, closed bolt, semi-auto only STEN guns in Canada.  (I own one, which I built myself, which has been registered with the CFC, RCMP, and met with the CFO three times during the planning and construction process.)  Problem being, again, this guy's history....the barrel length would make the STEN's shown in the images AT LEAST restricted firearms, and this guy's got a complete prohibition....so there's no way for them to be legally registered, particularly to him. 

4.  Suppressors (silencers).  Yes, they COULD be solid blocks of metal that screw on the end of the muzzle to provide the appearance of a suppressor while not acting as a suppressor, however, I suspect that is not the case.  Legally, if you're a business and hold the correct business license, you CAN get suppressors in Canada, but this guy....again....prohibition....'nuf said.

5.  Ammuntion.  Oops, no firearms license, how did you buy ammo?  The packaging isn't important, anyone can get ammo cans from princess auto for storage, but the ammo itself...when he's got a prohibition...?

Images from the OPP Website follow:

M-16 in the wall:

http://www.opp.ca/media/pweu/1.jpg

1.jpg


Sten photo:

http://www.opp.ca/media/pweu/4.jpg

4.jpg


And an overall photo of the whole collection of siezed firearms:

http://www.opp.ca/media/pweu/10.jpg

10.jpg
 
It appears that there are 62 firearms (with yellow tags) plus magazines, (probably un-pinned at 5 rds) what appears to possibly be 2 pen guns, 6 non-firearms pistols, a cannon, plus a number of bows/cross-bows.

The SPAS-12 in the 2nd row of guns is a Prohib, no grandfathering (banned in 1992).

There's at least 6 suppressors or suppressed firearms there.

For an Ex-RCMP officer, he's really jumped from being a keeper of the laws, to a breaker of them. 

"Ignorance of the facts is a defense, ignorance of the law is not."

NS
 
I just love the contrast of weapons in the last picture. For example in the second last column there is a suppressed AR15 type rifle right beside a musket in the last column! I was also wondering if anyone could identify the gun that is 8th from the top in the last column?
 
PPSH 43?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PPS_submachine_gun

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:pPS.jpg

 
Looks like some sort of trapdoor. Not quite a Springfield, but something along that line.
 
On the news they said that some of the guns were modified, so it could be a Springfield with a modified stock/handguard. But I'm not sure. Thanks for the reply.
 
This guy was prepared for zombies, aliens, nuclear war, and god knows what else all in one go.
 
Are those barbeques going up for auction? They look nice.  >:D
 
That is a really nice collection!
There's a few I wouldn't mind owning myself; it's unfortunate that they're all going to be destroyed.
The guy obviously had a few screws loose.....
 
Do they really destroy the firearms in this case? I could understand the Prohibited and maybe even the Restricted but there are some fairly valueable/uncommon firearms in the mix there. From a quick glance I spotted several Lee Enfields, a couple of Lee enfield Jungle Carbines/mk 5's, a SVT 40 and some other nice looking Non-Restricted firearms. Wouldn't mind owning a few of those, I hope those don't get cut up as that would be a waste.

edited as the last sentence wasn't complete
 
I'm surprised he didn't have anything in .50 Cal.
 
I've never heard of any police force auctioning off or selling seized weapons; not to say it doesn't happen, but I've never heard of it.
 
In the group photo of the weapons ... bottom right corner of the photo ...

Is that a flip wallet with a (possibly counterfeit) LE Badge/ID card  (RCMP??).

Forgot mes lunettes in Montreal, so can't see it all that well.  :-\
 
An archived article on his previous jail time; it seems as if it is same old/same old:

Snagged from: By RCMP Watch — 2008.01.29 at 18:16

`Naked Mountie’ jailed 5 years

Peter Small (Toronto Star) – A retired RCMP officer who provided guns for a legendary con man has been sent to jail for five years for 10 firearms offences.

David Kift, 50, who served in the RCMP for 18 years and wrote a self-published book, The Naked Mountie, had been found guilty in December by Superior Court Justice Paul Rivard.

“Mr. Kift committed an egregious breach of trust. He presented himself as a retired RCMP officer,” Crown prosecutor Beverley Richards told the judge yesterday. He turned guns “into illegal killing weapons and (sold) them for no other reason than greed,” she said.

Richards asked for a 10-12 year sentence. Kift, who represented himself, asked for a sentence of two years and a day. He told the judge he is appealing his conviction. Referring to the prosecutor’s characterization of his actions, he said, “If I had done that, I would consider myself a monster.”

Among his convictions for crimes in March and April 2003 were: illegally transferring firearms; removing serial numbers from a firearm; and possession of a prohibited firearm – a Sten machine gun – together with ammunition, and an overcapacity cartridge.
 
ArmyVern said:
In the group photo of the weapons ... bottom right corner of the photo ...

Is that a flip wallet with a (possibly counterfeit) LE Badge/ID card  (RCMP??).

Forgot mes lunettes in Montreal, so can't see it all that well.  :-\

enlarged and slightly sharpenned flip wallet for you.
(I was looking at that also)
 
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