VICTORIA -- Police are investigating after dozens of replica firearms and a .303 rifle were seized from a home in Langford Tuesday, according to the West Shore RCMP.
The weapons were discovered after police executed a search warrant on the property, located in the 600-block of Phelps Avenue.
Mounties first began investigating the home after they received a report of someone possessing multiple firearms on the property.
Police then learned that the tenant of the residence did not have a valid firearms licence and sought a search warrant.
Inside the home, officers found a .303 rifle alongside 36 replica firearms. Police note that while it is not illegal to own replica firearms, the amount discovered alongside a real gun was suspicious.
“We do come across replica firearms which are not illegal to possess. However, the sheer quantity of replica firearms found openly laying round this home alongside a real .303 rifle is a public safety concern,” said Const. Nancy Saggar, West Shore RCMP.
Police say that a 62-year-old man with a “lengthy criminal record” who currently has other unrelated matters before the courts has been identified as a suspect in the investigation.
This investigation into the unauthorized possession of a firearm is ongoing.