ST. ALBERT - Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams (ALERT) has laid 46 combined charges against two St. Albert men following an investigation earlier this month.
An ALERT release on Aug. 17 says officers executed multiple search warrants on vehicles and homes on Aug. 2, and found three handguns, a prohibited assault rifle, a silencer, as well as magazines and ammunition.
As a result, 47-year-old Mohamed Ilmi and 42-year-old Paul Joseph, both of St. Albert, were arrested and charged.
“Each of the firearms seized had the serials numbers defaced, while the rifle appears to have been manufactured without one,” the release says. “All of the seized firearms have been submitted for further forensic analysis, ballistics testing and serial number restoration.”
The release says Ilmi is facing 33 charges, including breach of release conditions, while Joseph is facing 13 charges. Ilmi was remanded into custody and is scheduled to appear in court on Aug. 21. The release doesn't say when Joseph is scheduled to appear in court.
“Several of these firearms were tucked away, hidden inside a sophisticated compartment within one of the vehicles,” ALERT Edmonton Staff Sgt. Richard DeJong is quoted as saying in the release. “One of the seized firearms was loaded when officers located it. It’s concerning when we see the lengths people will go to in order to conceal a weapon.”
“It’s even more concerning that two of the four firearms were fully automatic weapons, and that one appears to have been intentionally modified as such.”
