(Editor's note: This story was originally posted on April 8, but it has since been updated with additional information.)
BARRHEAD/WESTLOCK-Six people were taken into custody and are facing 88 charges in connection to an RCMP sting operation at an alleged "chop shop" in the County of Barrhead.
Barrhead RCMP Sgt. Bob Dodds said the situation is fluid and the investigation is still ongoing. By the time it is complete, he expects several more charges will come as a result.
The operation started on April 7, at about 10 a.m. following a search warrant and involved the Barrhead and Westlock RCMP detachments, the RCMP Auto Theft and Dog units. The Eastern Alberta District Crime Reduction Unit (CRU) also provided support. The police were at the property well into the evening.
Police obtained the search warrant as part of an ongoing investigation at the property beginning in March.
Due to the large police presence in the area, the RCMP issued a notice through the Barrhead and Area Crime Coalition (BARCC) alert system that an operation was taking place and there was no danger to the public.
As part of the operation, Dodds said, police seized more than 24 firearms (at least four were stolen and two which were loaded) and two prohibited high capacity magazines. Police also recovered several licence plates, assorted tools and auto parts as well as a small quantity of drugs, believed to be methamphetamine.
Police also found several stolen vehicles (including recreational vehicles) on the property along with a wide variety of other stolen items.
“It was a sophisticated operation designed to create new vehicle identification numbers for stolen vehicles,” he said.
Dodds added that they recovered several other items and they were in the process of attempting to identify the rightful owners of the stolen property many of which have been linked to files from several detachments across the province.
Four of the people taken into custody have since been released. However, Niel Pendrak, 46, and Laurie Bell, 39, remain in custody pending an April 12 hearing.
"It is very complicated investigation," he reiterated. "It is going to take several days or even weeks until we determine the full extent of the appropriate charges. But it was definitely a big operation on the Barrhead scale."
