Asset 1ALERT-Wide-White

Opportunity Knocks

Opportunity Knocks

After 17 years as a police officer, not much crosses Det. Kris Bombier’s desk that is unfamiliar to him. But when he was handed the file for a case of a man suspected of manufacturing machine guns in a shop just west of Edmonton, it was a rare occurrence.

Bombier is a member of ALERT’s Guns and Gangs unit in Edmonton, which was established in 2016 and specializes in determining how organized crime groups in Alberta source and acquire the firearms they use to protect themselves and intimidate their rivals.

Handmade copies of a MAC-11 submachine gun are displayed during an ALERT media availability on Aug. 23, 2017.

When this case landed on Bombier’s desk, he knew it was a unique opportunity to make an impact.

“The excitement of this file was that it was completely different, a different type of approach to an investigation and a different type of investigation that often doesn’t get done in Canada. And when it does, you have to jump at the opportunity, so we weren’t going to pass it up,” he says.

In August 2017, search warrants were executed at two Edmonton homes and a rural property in Parkland County. Two people – Jacob Balan and Amy Brogden – were arrested and jointly charged with 62 firearms-related offences. Investigators seized four prohibited firearms: a Beretta handgun equipped with a suppressor; a modified Suomi submachine gun with two oversized magazines; and two homemade MAC-11 submachine guns outfitted with suppressors and oversized magazines.

Prior to joining the Guns and Gangs unit, much of Bombier’s professional background was in drug work. He says the links between guns and drugs have become closer in recent years.
“When I first started out, it was rare to get a gun with drugs; as my career has progressed, it has become more and more commonplace,” he says.

However, the big difference is that it’s not necessarily illegal to simply possess a gun, even a restricted one, if you have a license for it. So, when it came to this investigation, many questions had to be answered before the unit could move in on the suspects.

“We didn’t know necessarily why the person was making the guns. It’s that who, what, when, where and why,” Bombier says. “We had information that this person had a machining background, was manufacturing fully automatic firearms and trafficking fully automatic firearms. But why was he doing that? We didn’t know; that was part of the investigation. It was a unique file in that respect.”

Eventually, though, a plan came together and was executed with the help of several partner agencies and departments. Organizing something that complicated wasn’t daunting to Bombier, though, because the whole operation could be broken down into smaller pieces and everyone took care of their roles as assigned.

“Every person on the team does an amazing job, and they care about what they’re doing,” he says. “There’s an element of, and it sounds hokey, but there’s an excitement behind being part of a newer or unique investigation. Being a team that successfully completes that, there’s an excitement to it; there’s a high-five factor to it.”

 

Since 2022, CISA has been guided by four pillars that focus the effort to promote an integrated, intelligence-led approach to combating organized crime; these are:

  • Building Relationships with Stakeholders;
  • Promote Intel Sharing Across the Province;
  • Being Proactive and Identify Emerging Trends; and
  • Investing in Our People Through Training and Development

 

Criminal Intelligence Service Alberta (CISA) has recently developed an Alberta Firearms Intelligence Centre (AFIC) to equitably expand access to firearms intelligence for all law enforcement agencies within Alberta. AFIC will provide timely, accurate, and actionable intelligence to law enforcement agencies and policy-makers to achieve the shared and collaborative goals of increasing public safety concerning firearm-related crimes.

Protecting Kids Online | Internet Child Exploitation

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

2023-24

2022-23

2021-22

FILE INTAKES

680

872

1,149

1,114

3,815

2,994

2,764

SUSPECTS CHARGED

22

16

34

37

109

81

125

CHARGES LAID

87

45

123

160

415

351

413

CHILDREN RESCUED

26

78

56

43

203

46

100

EXHIBITS SEIZED

335

368

545

476

1,724

1,243

1,845

TOTAL PHOTOS/VIDEOS

262,400

511,133

1,374,310

606,254

2,754,097

2,551,921

13,260,819

Stopping Human Trafficking | HUMAN TRAFFICKING & COUNTER EXPLOITATION

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

2023-24

2022-23

2021-22

SUSPECTS CHARGED

13

10

7

4

34

30

76

CHARGES LAID

79

46

87

19

231

96

157

VICTIM INTERVENTIONS

30

29

17

37

113

28

22

Intelligence & Expertise | CISA / Training

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

2023-24

2022-23

2021-22

INTELLIGENCE REPORTS

409

296

327

442

1,474

1,560

1,318

TRAINING COURSES

5

3

8

11

27

36

25

CANDIDATES TRAINED

321

56

135

350

862

933

638

Disrupt & Dismantle Organized Crime | Combined Special Forces Enforcement

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

2023-24

2022-23

2021-22

SUSPECTS CHARGED

40

27

42

32

141

197

168

CHARGES LAID

176

156

237

231

800

1,088

820

FIREARMS SEIZED

105

53

26

48

232

102

126

EST. VALUE OF DRUGS SEIZED

$906,814

$553,851

$2,725,161

$1,148,337

$5,334,163

$10,898,269

$334,093,020

PROCEEDS OF CRIME SEIZED

$218,133

$52,970

$130,996

$230,195

$632,294

$1,432,847

$21,740,617

ANNUAL Regional ResultS

ARRESTS

CHARGES

FIREARMS

DRUGS

PROCEEDS

CALGARY

24

110

14

$937,422

$65,881

EDMONTON

17

131

45

$592,839

$272,446

FORT MCMURRAY

8

78

4

$352,942

$144,301

GRANDE PRAIRIE

7

17

13

$192,145

$31,855

LETHBRIDGE

7

29

44

$349,773

$51,245

LLOYDMINSTER

24

93

41

$164,134

$12,504

MEDICINE HAT

37

179

13

$293,108

$7,861

RED DEER

17

163

58

$2,451,800

$46,201

TOTALS

141

800

232

$5,334,163

$632,294

Organized Property Crimes | Auto Crimes

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

2023-24

2022-23

2021-22

SUSPECTS CHARGED

1

1

2

1

10

CHARGES LAID

11

47

STOLEN VEHICLES

23

15

1

6

45

245

118

RECOVERED ASSETS

$1,432,000

$941,025

$108,000

$260,000

$2,741025

$8,420,500

$3,919,500

Firearms investigations | Firearms lab & Gang suPpression teams

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

2023-24

2022-23

2021-22

FIREARMS EXAMINATIONS

349

351

243

235

1,178

EXHIBIT EXAMINATIONS

1,316

1,409

891

1,099

4,715

SERIAL NUMBER RESTORATIONS

31

34

19

24

108

IBIS SUBMISSIONS

343

421

1,334

304

2,402

GUN SEIZURES

1

14

15

SUSPECTS CHARGED

4

22

26

CHARGES LAID

41

144

185

Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) involves images and/or videos that depict the sexual abuse of minors – the majority of which involve prepubescent children. Often, CSAM involves explicit and/or extreme sexual assaults against the child victim (Cybertip.ca).

Learn more about Internet Child Exploitation and ALERT’s integrated teams combatting this issue.

Ghost Guns are illegal, privately manufactured firearms or lower receivers. These weapons are often made with 3D-printers, and undermine public safety due to their lack of licensing requirements, serialization and safety controls.

Learn more about Ghost Guns on ALERT’s dedicated Privately Manufactured Firearms info page