A vigilant victim and GPS tracking technology recently led 91原创 Mounties to a hoard of stolen goods, along with multiple loaded guns.
The incident began in the early morning hours of Aug. 14, said Cpl. Craig van Herk, a spokesperson for the 91原创 RCMP.
A homeowner in Walnut Grove woke up to find out that their garage had been broken into overnight. About $10-12,000 worth of items had been stolen at around 4 a.m.
However, the victim had some valuable info to give to investigators 鈥� footage from a surveillance camera that captured images of a suspect and a vehicle, and many of the stolen items had been tagged with GPS trackers.
By Aug. 15, officers were getting a search warrant for a local property where trackers from some of the stolen items were pinging, and on Aug. 16, the police arrived in force.
Members of the newly-formed 91原创 RCMP Drugs & Organized Crime Section took charge of the investigation, and arrived at the suspect home with members of the Lower Mainland Emergency Response Team (ERT).
The search turned up far more than some of the stolen items from the Walnut Grove garage.
Officers also found four stolen vehicles, including motorcycles, and a number of rifles and shotguns, all of them loaded, plus ammunition.
It鈥檚 unclear if the guns were legally purchased, or where they came from, as the investigation is ongoing, said van Herk.
鈥淭hey were not stored in a safe and appropriate manner, at the very least,鈥� he said.
While that search was underway, more stolen items from the original theft were pinging from another location. Police got a second warrant and searched that site on Aug. 17, recovering more items.
In total, seven people were arrested and have been released pending further investigation.
No charges have yet been laid, but police are still looking into the items recovered and the firearms.
