Grande Prairie man facing firearms trafficking charges

May 20, 2020 | 1:35 PM

Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams (ALERT) has arrested a Grande Prairie man who was allegedly involved in trafficking restricted handguns.

Fifty-year-old Allan Salud was arrested by ALERT Grande Prairie’s organized crime and gang team on May 14.

ALERT says Salud was allegedly involved in selling restricted handguns on the criminal market and was involved in ‘straw purchasing’.

Straw purchasing usually involves an individual with a valid Possession and Acquisition License (PAL), but no criminal record that would prevent them from purchasing and obtaining firearms for someone who could not or did not want to be associated with the transaction.

ALERT says Salud had purchased 11 handguns since March 2020, and that one of the handguns purchased was later seized by the Grande Prairie RCMP during a drug investigation on March 27 of this year.

Four firearms, originally acquired by Salud, have been seized by ALERT. These include three handguns and a shotgun, after searches were done of homes in Grande Prairie and Beaverlodge. ALERT says seven of the restricted handguns remain unaccounted for.

Salud is now 31 charges, including:

firearms trafficking
possession of a firearm for the purpose of trafficking
failure to report a lost or stolen firearm
unauthorized possession of a firearm in a motor vehicle
possession of a restricted firearm with ammunition
unsafe storage of a firearm
possession of a firearm at an unauthorized place.

by Emily Keller