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Maple Ridge man faces 50 criminal charges for firearms, weapons possession

Coquitlam RCMP say weapons seized were 'meant for criminals'.
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RCMP Cpl. Frank Grosspietsch addresses media during a press conference Tuesday morning in Coquitlam which showcased the items seized from a bust earlier this year.

A fully automatic Galil assault rifle, a Sten machine gun, an AK-47 assault rifle, a Glock 17 handgun and an M1 carbine.

These were among 33 firearms seized in a bust in June by Coquitlam RCMP that resulted in 50 criminal charges being laid against a Maple Ridge man whom police claim was selling weapons to criminals.

Marc Wisdom, 41, has been charged with 26 counts that are firearms- and ammunition-related, 20 counts for possession of prohibited devices and four counts of possession of prohibited weapons.

The charges stem from a June 12 raid in which Mounties executed four search warrants at locations in Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam and Maple Ridge, Insp. Paulette Freill said at a press conference Tuesday morning in Coquitlam. The bust was a joint operation between Coquitlam RCMP, the regional Emergency Response Team, National Weapons Enforcement Support Team (NWEST) and the Explosives Disposal Unit.

The local Street Enforcement Unit (SEU) initiated the investigation in February when information was received about gun and drug trafficking in Port Coquitlam, Freill said.

During the searches, in addition to the weapons listed above, police also seized items such as a conducted energy weapon (like a Taser), butterfly knife, 62 prohibited high-capacity ammunition magazines, body armour, pre-packaged marijuana, about 30,000 rounds of ammunition and 60,000 counterfeit DVDs.

NWEST Cpl. Frank Grosspietsch said in an RCMP handout, "To be absolutely clear, these firearms were not part of someone's collection. These firearms were meant for criminals in Greater Vancouver and were meant to cause maximum carnage."