A man has been charged after a handgun and hundreds of rounds of ammunition were seized in Saanich.
Just before midnight on Tuesday (April 11), police received a report of a man illegally entering a residential complex in the 4000 block of Shelbourne Street.
An Integrated Canine Service (ICS) officer located a suspect nearby. Upon arrest, the suspect was found in possession of a bag of nearly 500 rounds of 9mm 0.22 caliber ammunition.
A loaded .22 caliber revolver was also found on the ground in the area. The revolver was determined to have been stolen during a break-and-break in Port McNeil in 2021, police said.
“The ICS officer and his partner, Hitch the dog, demonstrated their ability to extract important evidence from this scene in a very rapid manner,” Saanich spokesman Const said. Marcus Anastasiades said in a statement.
“Without their help, this loaded firearm could have fallen into the wrong hands with potentially serious consequences.”
Raymond Beaton, 57, was charged with possession of a restricted firearm prohibited from possessing a firearm, possession of a criminally obtained weapon, possession of a restricted weapon and possession of a restricted weapon with ammunition.
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CrimeGreater VictoriaSaanichSaanichSaanich Police Department