Canada

The Canadian Press - ONLINE EDITION

Ex-RCMP officer arrested after huge weapons stockpile uncovered in Ontario home

By: Allison Jones, The Canadian Press

Posted: 03/12/2013 9:59 AM | Comments: 0 | Last Modified: 03/12/2013 5:10 PM

Ontario Provincial Police seized a large cache of restricted and banned weapons in Bancroft, Ont. Police say the huge stockpile of weapons included assault rifles, land mines and a small cannon and were hidden in the walls and garage of one home. THE CANADIAN PRESS/ho-Ontario Provincial Police

TORONTO - Homemade assault rifles, landmines, crossbows and a small cannon were among a huge stockpile of weapons found hidden in the walls and garage of one home in eastern Ontario, police said Tuesday.

Two people, including a former RCMP officer who has been under a weapons ban since 2008, were arrested and charged after police searched the house in Bancroft, Ont., on March 7. They are each facing hundreds of charges.

In all, 67 weapons were seized, several of them illegally converted or altered, along with tens of thousands of rounds of ammunition, police said.

The Department of National Defence had to be called in to help remove anti-personnel landmines, grenades, detonator cords and blasting caps.

"There's no possible reason why anybody would have such an arsenal of weapons," said Insp. Mario Lessard, of the Durham Regional Police.

Police are still working to figure out why someone would amass such a cache of firearms and other weapons, Lessard said. The seizure is among the largest police in the region have seen allegedly from one person, he said.

"We are pleased that these weapons are now secure," Lessard said. "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."

When officers searched the home on Spooks Bay Lane they found two hidden compartments built into the walls of the house that were being used to store illegal weapons and ammunition, police said.

In the garage they found machining equipment along with illegal, converted and altered weapons, silencers, prohibited magazines, homemade manufactured assault rifles, pistols with no serial numbers and firearms with the serial numbers removed, police said.

The cache included machine-guns, assault rifles, smoke grenades, a fully automatic shotgun, prohibited crossbows, a Taser, and a 32-inch cannon.

David Kift, 55, is facing hundreds of weapons offences including illegal possession, alteration and manufacturing of prohibited and restricted firearms and has been remanded into custody. Kift was a member of the RCMP and retired in 1996, police said.

Court documents show that he tried to sue the federal government for $1 million in a claim that was eventually dismissed.

In a self-published book titled "The Naked Mountie," Kift writes that he sued for negligence and wrongdoing. He wrote that he was honourably discharged from the force after a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder.

The RCMP was not able to confirm the circumstances under which Kift left the police service.

In January 2008, Kift was sentenced to five years — and a 10-year weapons prohibition order — on a total of nine firearms-related offences.

Marion Kift, 53, is facing similar charges and has been released on bail.

Fact Check

Have you found an error, or know of something we’ve missed in one of our stories? Please use the form below and let us know.

* Required

In which story did you find the error? *
Please post the headline of the story or the title of the video with the error.
What was the error? *
Please post exactly what was wrong with the story.
What should we have written?
Please indicate your source for the correct information.
Who else should we interview to improve this story?
Please include any contact information you may have.
Can we contact you in the future for advice on stories about this topic?
Yes

No
First Name: *
Last Name: *
E–mail Address: *
This will only be used to contact you if we have a question about your submission, it will not be used to identify you or be published.
Phone: *
This will only be used to contact you if we have a question about your submission, it will not be used to identify you or be published.
Colour:
Are you blue? If you can see this, leave it blank and get some CSS support.
Enter the words that you see: * This is to prevent our forms from being filled out automatically.
You have failed to correctly identify the words in the box above. Please try again.

More Canada

Undock

You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments. All you need to do is register and/or login and you can join the conversation and give your feedback.

Have Your Say

New to commenting? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions.

The Winnipeg Free Press does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comment, you agree to our Terms and Conditions. These terms were revised effective April 16, 2010.