Two people from Quebec are in Ontario Provincial Police custody awaiting a bail hearing after a traffic stop on Hwy 401 in Loyalist Township on Sunday morning.
Shortly after 9 a.m., a traffic enforcement officer with the East Region Highway Safety Division (ERHSD) stopped an SUV that was clocked speeding eastbound on Highway 401. The licence plates attached to the vehicle were found to be stolen from a similar type of vehicle.
Upon the arrest of the two occupants of the vehicle, a search revealed two loaded handguns in their possession.
A 24 year-old from Lasalle, Quebec and a 28 year-old from the St Clair, Quebec are both facing 26 Criminal Code charges each, including:
· four counts of carrying a concealed weapon or ammunition;
· four counts of possession of prohibited weapons or ammunition;
· two counts of possession of ammunition or firearms contrary to a prohibition order;
· two counts of possession of, or knowledge of, a firearm with the serial number tampered with;
· two counts of possession of loaded prohibited or restricted firearm;
· two counts of possession of a weapon;
· two counts of unauthorized possession of a prohibited or restricted firearm;
· two counts of possession of a prohibited device or ammunition;
· two counts of being an occupant of a vehicle knowing there was a firearm;
· two counts of knowledge of possession of a firearm;
· Tampering with the serial number of a firearm; and
· Possession of property obtained by crime.
The names of the accused are not being released at this time because the investigation is ongoing with further charges possible.
Both accused remain in police custody and will appear at a virtual bail hearing in the Ontario Court of Justice in Greater Napanee on Monday, March 15.
‘This incident serves to highlight once again that criminal possession of firearms is not just a problem encountered in big cities” said Insp. Scott Semple, detachment commander of the Lennox and Addington County OPP detachment. “What’s more, this occurrence highlights the potential dangers that are inherent in every single interaction that police officers have with people on every duty shift. There is no such thing as a ‘routine’ traffic stop”.