Kamloops RCMP have laid charges after a gang-related weapons seizure at a local warehouse yesterday.

Police say the seized weapons include three semi-automatic rifles, a bolt-action and level-action rifle, a shotgun, air-soft pistols, crossbows and nunchucks. The RCMP Explosives Disposal Unit was also called after police found what they believed to be explosives.

Staff Sgt. Simon Pillay, the Kamloops RCMP Plainclothes Commander says the locker was believed to be controlled by someone in the local drug trade. He says while police were on scene, two people rolled up to the storage unit and were arrested without incident, one with a loaded 9mm pistol as well as illicit drugs.

As a result, 43-year-old Brett Haynes now faces nearly a dozen new weapon and drug charges. Pillay says charges are also being recommended against a 23-year-old Kamloops woman, who has since been released from custody.

“Through 2019 Kamloops endured a serious spike in organized crime gun violence that led to several murders, including the death of an innocent person through mistaken identity,” Pillay said. “This is why illegal firearms in the hands of the criminal element cannot be tolerated.”

“When guns are introduced into drug trafficking, even minor conflicts can escalate to deaths and serious injuries. Even those active in the drug scene have an interest in ensuring that people profiteering off this drug crisis are not armed and causing additional harm to our community. Once again, we ask the public to report those drug traffickers who carry or stockpile illegal firearms so we can take preemptive actions like this.”

To move the investigation forward, Pillay says police have released a photo of Brett Haynes, and are asking people with information to contact police.