Update: Cross-Canada Firearms Manufacturing Operation

Edmonton… Nearly 100 3D-printed firearms, handguns, and rifles were seized by ALERT as part of Project Reproduction. The Canada-wide investigation was being led by Quebec’s integrated team against firearms trafficking, known as EILTA.

Click here to read the original release.

Project Reproduction targeted illicit firearms trafficking and manufacturing and saw seven Alberta home searched on June 21, 2023. ALERT executed search warrants at homes in Grande Prairie, Penhold, Innisfail, Brooks, Lloydminster, and Lac Ste. Anne County.

As result of those search warrants, the following items were seized:

• 8 3D printers;
• 11 completed 3D-printed firearms;
• 45 incomplete 3D-printed firearms, including frames and receivers;
• 21 3D-printed firearms suppressors;
• 8 handguns;
• 72 long-barrel firearms;
• Thousand of rounds of ammunition.

The Alberta targets were identified through criminal intelligence developed by ELITA, Équipe intégrée de lutte au trafic d’armes, which is a joint forces initiative comprised of Sûreté du Québec, the Montreal Police Service, RCMP, and Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA).

Project Reproduction saw search warrants executed across eight provinces and 46 different municipalities. Nationally, a total of 440 firearms were seized, including 71 3D-printed firearms and 62 handguns.

Several Alberta suspects have been identified, but no one was been formally charged as of yet. ALERT’s investigation remains ongoing as investigators are preparing reports and disclosure for Crown Counsel.

Firearms ballistics testing is being completed by the Edmonton-based firearms examination unit.

ALERT relied on the assistance of a number of police agencies and specialized units, including: Edmonton Police Service, Medicine Hat Police Service, Alberta Chief Firearms Office, RCMP’s National Weapons Enforcement Support Team (NWEST), and a number of RCMP detachments including Innisfail, Red Deer, Grande Prairie, Brooks, and Lloydminster.

ALERT was established and is funded by the Alberta Government and is a compilation of the province’s most sophisticated law enforcement resources committed to tackling serious and organized crime.