The seizure of numerous firearms and thousands of rounds of ammo in Winkler is an eye-opener, says Police Chief Ryan Hunt.
    
A 22-year-old Winkler man is facing a long list of charges after a multi-agency firearms manufacturing investigation called "Project RECOIL" led to his arrest on April 29th. 
    
The investigation included Winkler and Morden Police Services, as well as the RCMP D Division National Weapons Enforcement Support Team (NWEST).
    
"It might not be uncommon for really anywhere in Manitoba for somebody to have this many (legal) firearms if that's a hobby of yours," said Chief Hunt. 

Although it's not uncommon, Hunt said the concerning part of the April 29th seizure, is the weapons and ammo were not stored properly, and just out in the open, inside the house where anybody would have access to them. So that's the concerning part." Hunt said to their knowledge, there was never any threat made to anybody in the public.

Hunt says working with other agencies during big investigations, like "Project RECOIL", is much more manageable.

"We obviously work quite closely with the Morden Police Service all the time during these projects. It's great to have the extra manpower," added Hunt. "The availability, just to have enough staff available to accomplish a project of this size is a huge factor that plays into it, and we really appreciate the assistance that we get from the other agencies."

"And as far as the RCMP, they have their National Weapons Enforcement Support Team. Just with their knowledge and experience, and their overall expertise with firearms, we wanted to include them, and we were quite thankful for the assistance they provided to us, not only during the project but also on the day that the warrant was executed."

The message Hunt wants to share right now is to make sure your firearms are stored properly.

"I know there's farmers that live in the remote rural areas may have a rifle stored in a closet somewhere for easy access, but, that's not what we're talking about here. This was several firearms stored inside of a house."

The April 29th seizure also included restricted firearms.

"You might think you're not gonna do anything wrong with these firearms, but there's lots of stories, not only in Manitoba, but right across Canada of homes, or residences being broken into and firearms stolen. So that's always a big concern."

The 22-year-old is facing a long list of charges as a result of the investigation and seizure.
    
He was released on conditions, awaiting his court date.

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