Buying guns on Internet too easy
Police display seized weaponry Four face total of 276 charges
The police officer had heard guns could be bought over the Internet. To find out if it could be done, Det. Const. Ron Scherbey began to surf online, checking websites and chat rooms frequented by gang members. He soon found pictures of guns for sale in Toronto. The seller was holding different models in those pictures — semi- automatic rifles, shotguns and starter pistols. For the right price, they could be bought. So the officer with the 14 Division street crime unit did just that. Over a month, he chatted online with the seller, negotiated a price and made arrangements to meet the man for the exchange. For $ 3,000, Toronto undercover officers bought two firearms — including a prohibited AT-9 semi- automatic carbine — and ammunition.
“ The way the investigation unfolded . . . it appears to us he was willing to sell guns to whoever had the money,” said Det. Const. Rondi Craig at a news conference yesterday at police headquarters.
This is a first for Toronto police, which so far this year has made 1,782 gun seizures as of Oct. 27. Never before has an officer made arrests of people alleged to have been selling firearms over the Internet. And the investigation led to one of Toronto’s largest gun and ammunition seizures.
Yesterday, downtown street crime unit officers filled six large tables with 23 guns, dozens of boxes of ammunition and related paraphernalia, such as a bulletproof baseball cap, a new military gas mask, 90-round magazines, brass knuckles and pepper spray.
“ We are pleased as a unit . . . to be able to get these guns off the streets of Toronto,” said Craig, a member of the 14 Division unit. The investigation began in September and resulted in the Oct. 27 arrests of four people — three of whom are related — who face a total of 276 charges. The website where the guns were advertised, registered to someone in Canada, has been shut down, Craig said.
Police executed search warrants on two Toronto homes, one near Yonge and College Sts., and the other in the High Park area. “We don’t know how many guns were sold prior to our intervention. But our investigation is ongoing. . . . We are going to make every effort to find out what other guns were sold, exist and are out on the street,” he said.
Police continue to trace all of the seized guns, but Craig said he believes some came from south of the border, while others came from Montreal. All of the weapons have serial numbers and police will determine if any were stolen from lawful gun owners by checking against the national gun registry.
All but two of the guns can be legally purchased in Canada. The prices of the seized items ranged from $20 for a magazine to thousands of dollars for a gun, he said.
Police will continue to conduct investigations relating to the sale of guns online, said Craig who added it is likely there will be similar busts in the future.
“ It is a medium by which people communicate obviously. We ourselves were a bit surprised how easy it was to secure this deal,” he said.
Jason Bradley Chong, 30, of Toronto is charged with 118 gun- related charges. He is to appear in court today for a bail hearing.
His father, David Chong, 64, and mother Sharon Chong, 58, both of Toronto, each face 56 gun-related charges. A fourth person, Jacqueline Pangilinan, 28, also of Toronto, is charged with 46 gun- related charges. All three have been released on bail.