Charges laid in high-speed chase
Two young men arrested in Halifax following a highspeed police chase Wednesday face a number of firearm charges in a federal investigation into organized crime and drugs in the province.
Members of the RCMP'S federal serious organized crime unit and emergency response team tried to stop a car in the area of Highway 102 and Dunbrack Street.
The vehicle fled and was pursued by police for about two minutes before it was forced off the road on Elliott Street in west-end Halifax and the two occupants were arrested.
An RCMP news release Saturday said a loaded handgun thrown out of the car during the pursuit was recovered by police. Officers also seized a significant quantity of drugs, believed to be cocaine, from the vehicle.
Following that traffic stop, police searched a residence on Willett Street in Halifax and located a loaded AR-15 assault rifle and ammunition.
RCMP said the occupants of the vehicle — Cameron Mombourquette, 23, and Dawid Denisow, 24, both from the Halifax area — are jointly charged with nine offences in relation to the handgun, including transporting a prohibited weapon in a careless manner.
Mombourquette is also charged with dangerous driving and fleeing from police in a vehicle, while Denisow faces an additional seven firearm-related charges in connection with the assault rifle found at the Willett Street address.
The two men were remanded and are scheduled to appear in Halifax provincial court Monday.
RCMP said the traffic stop was part of a federal operation that involved searches of 13 residences throughout the Halifax Regional Municipality on Wednesday and Thursday.
More charges are expected and the investigation is ongoing, police said.