Some of the items seized by officers during the investigation of Bradley M. Friesen including illegal silencers he allegedly sold through a mail order business.
Image Credit: RCMP handout
August 18, 2014 - 10:27 AM
OSOYOOS - An additional 37 firearms-related charges have been laid on a Langley man arrested at the Nk’Mip campground in Osoyoos last month in addition to the nine charges he originally faced.
Bradley Michael Friesen, 37, was arrested on July 17 at the campground in Osoyoos where officers found and seized numerous firearms and prohibited firearms-related devices. Many were found in his van, stashed underneath a booster seat in which Friesen’s 5-year-old son was sitting, and at the boy's feet.
“Bradley Friesen is a dangerous offender who is alleged to have showed a complete disregard for the safety of the public, including compromising the safety of his own child by putting him in proximity to firearms and other weapons. As a parent, I find this absolutely appalling,” Sergeant Lindsey Houghton with the Combined Forces Unit said in a media release.
Friesen has a criminal record which includes attempted murder with a firearm in Penticton in 2003. He also has a lifetime firearms prohibition.
According to RCMP, he is connected to several mid-level B.C. crime groups.
A number of firearms and firearms-related devices, including Glocks, rifles and silencers were found at Friesen’s home during an investigation carried out by the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit of B.C. and the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
The Combined Forces Unit obtained a search warrant for Friesen’s property in Langley, as well as his vehicles, workshop, and the campground and tent in Osoyoos where Friesen was camping.
Police think Friesen was manufacturing silencers in his workshop.
On July 16, Friesen was indicted by the United States Attorney in Tucson, Arizona on weapons trafficking charges. They are seeking extradition to the United States. Officers suspect Friesen of mailing gun products to addresses in Canada, the U.S. and Australia.
Friesen is in custody in Surrey awaiting trial on the Canadian charges, including weapons trafficking, importing and exporting unauthorized weapons, and possession.
Image Credit: RCMP handout
Image Credit: RCMP handout
To contact the reporter for this story, email Meaghan Archer at marcher@infonews.ca or call 250-488-3065. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.
News from © iNFOnews, 2014