Guns, stolen items seized in Zhoda raids

Three people were arrested after RCMP raided two properties in Zhoda during an investigation into guns and stolen property.

The investigation began Oct. 24, and Mounties obtained warrants. RCMP, along with the Ste. Anne Police Service, raided the properties Tuesday.

Investigators seized more than 10 guns, hundreds of rounds of ammunition and more than 40 cartons of illegal unstamped cigarettes, RCMP said in a news release Thursday.

Some of the guns were stolen in residential break-and-enters in the Rural Municipality of DeSalaberry in March 2011 and in Pansy, a community in the RM of Hanover, in July 2022.

Officers also found a stolen hydraulic press worth about $6,000 and a towable generator worth about $7,000. Both were buried in mud next to each other, RCMP said.

The press, which belongs to a Steinbach business, was stolen from a job site on Provincial Road 203 near Badger, in the RM of Piney, this month. The generator was reported stolen from Monominto Road in the RM of Springfield in January 2024.

Two women, ages 69 and 35, were arrested, assigned a court date and released.

A 42-year-old man is charged with more than 25 offences, including 20 firearm-related counts and one of failing to comply with a release order. He was detained in custody.

Steinbach RCMP are still investigating.