Nanaimo Police Raid Nets Guns, Explosives, Drugs, Cash

Two RCMP ERT Units Raid
Rural Extension Property

Update: Glen David Pirart Charged, 41 Firearms Siezed

One male has been charged and will be making an appearance in Nanaimo Provincial court today after a search of a rural property by Nanaimo RCMP yesterday in which a cache of guns ,explosives, drugs and cash were located.

Glen David PIRART age 43, was remanded into custody and charged with several firearm related offences and one drug charge. PIRART who resides on the property, has been charged with Unauthorized Possession of a Firearm, Possess Prohibited/Restricted Weapon, Careless Storage of a Firearm under the Criminal Code of Canada and Possession for the Purpose of Trafficking under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act(CDSA). The drug charge was laid by Federal Crown Counsel today and is in relation to a large quantity of cocaine found on the property. No charges were laid against the other four adults and they were all released unconditionally last night.

Members completed their search of the sprawling property late last night and no police resources are currently at the site.

All explosives were disposed of by the RCMP Explosive Unit yesterday. Investigators also stated there will be no public viewing of exhibits today due to the shear volume of items seized and operational concerns.

“This file is extremely complex, hundreds of exhibits were seized and upwards of 60 police officers were on scene at one point. All exhibits need to be catalogued and continuity maintained to ensure the integrity of the file. Our investigators however recognize the need to strike a balance between the public and media’s desire to see the items seized and the operational demands of this file. I ask the public and media to be patient and the exhibits will be displayed in due course” stated Cst Gary O’Brien media spokesperson for the Nanaimo RCMP.

"41 firearms were seized and currency and iillicit drugs were seized and are out of reach of criminal elements working within our community. It is important at this time to reassure the residents of Nanaimo that are members are committed to ensuring their safety and that this file is no where near completed" said Cst O'Brien.

It was also reported by several media outlets that two youth residing on the property were apprehended by Ministry of Children and Family Development(MCFD). That is not correct .The two youth ages 10 and 12, were turned over to family members who attended the property and took control of them while the search was ongoing.