ALERT seizes 3D-printed guns in Alberta

In Edmonton, police displayed nearly 100 confiscated firearms on Wednesday. Of these, 11 were 3D-printed.

“These illegal guns are produced without serial number, without meaningful testing, without licensing requirements, and without concern for public safety,” stated Insp. Brad Lundeen, with Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams.

The majority of these firearms are fully functional and produced in our locality.

Officers claim they found the guns when searching seven homes, in Grande Prairie Penhold Innisfail Brooks Lloydminster Lac Ste. Anne County.

The police found 8 3D printers along with 45 gun parts and 72 long barreled guns. Also, suppressors were also found, as well bump stocks, overcapacity magazines, suppressors and bump stock.

Lundeen has said that ALERT has identified a “several suspecteds”, but there have not been any arrests as the firearms are still being processed, and officers are continuing their investigation.

He said there was evidence that 3D printed guns were sold from the same homes where they were manufactured.

You’re looking at handguns, suppressors and sub-machine gun. Lundeen stated that organized crime prefers these weapons because they are easy to acquire and can be undetected.

The search warrants were executed as part of Project Reproduction, led by Montreal’s Équipe intégrée de lutte au trafic d’armes (EILTA), which aimed to crack down on the manufacturing and trafficking of privately-made firearms.

RCMP confirmed two weeks ago that approximately 440 guns (both traditional and 3D printed) were seized and 45 people arrested in Project Reproduction searches throughout Alberta, including Calgary, Edmonton, and Edmonton.

CTV News Calgary’s Timm Brüch and Melissa Gilligan contributed the following files.

The ALERT team displays the firearms they seized at a news conference held in Edmonton, Canada on July 5, 2023. (Amanda Anderson/CTV News Edmonton)