A police raid at a rural residence in the Pine Lake area, suspected of harbouring long-standing criminal activity, has resulted in the arrest of two Pine Lake-area men who police believe were cannibalizing automobile parts to fuel an illegal “chop shop” enterprise.
“This (location) was well known to police and the public,” said Innisfail RCMP Cpl. Jeff Hildebrandt. “A significant portion of the investigation and the result of the search warrant came about as a result of public concern and commentary about general suspicious criminal activity ongoing at that location.”
On the morning of Aug. 23, Innisfail RCMP executed a search warrant at a rural property on South Pine Lake Road, located east of Innisfail in Red Deer County.
With assistance from members of the RCMP Auto Theft Unit and Red Deer Police Dog Service, Mounties searched the property on information it was the headquarters for an active “chop shop”, an illegal enterprise where stolen automobiles are stripped of their parts and resold.
The RCMP search led to the recovery of five stolen vehicles, including a 2012 Ford F-350 diesel pickup truck with the engine and drive-train removed, a 2007 Ford F-350 diesel pickup truck with the engine and drive-train removed, an undamaged 2013 Chevrolet 3500 pickup truck, a 2008 Ski-Doo mountain snowmobile and a 27-foot Sunset travel trailer.
RCMP also located a loaded .22-calibre rifle with a homemade silencer affixed to the barrel, which is considered a prohibited weapon in Canada.
“There is no way around it that this is an absolutely prohibited weapon, and there is only one reason for the silencer to be on the barrel, and that is to make the weapon even quieter,” said Hildebrandt. “The obvious assumption being that the use of it in crime would be very significant.”
Hildebrandt said the property where the raid was conducted is a “significant one” for the Innisfail RCMP detachment, as it has been the subject of four search warrants in the last three years.
Aside from the Aug. 23 raid, there was a previous search warrant execution in conjunction with Red Deer city RCMP for the possession of stolen firearms used in a robbery, another one for possession of stolen property and one following the June 2 attempted murder of an area man, said Hildebrandt.
He added police believe the individuals living at the location have connections to organized crime.
“Any place that has this length or duration of that type of activity is obviously connected,” added Hildebrandt. “There is obviously a significant criminal element that lives there and they engage in their criminal activities consistent with their lifestyle at the location where they live.
“They are serious at what they do and these criminals have experience,” added Hildebrandt.
RCMP arrested two Pine Lake-area men at the rural site during the Aug. 23 raid. Andrew Montague, 30, who remains in custody, and Kris Rowe, 37, who was released on cash bail, are facing numerous Criminal Code charges, including possession of stolen property exceeding $5,000.
They are scheduled to appear in Red Deer provincial court in early September.
Innisfail RCMP is continuing its investigation into the case.
