Winnipeg police seize gun created from 3D printer

The Service Winnipeg Police Department is asking for help from the federal government to impose gun restrictions.

To curb the manufacture of guns by 3D printer, police inspector Elton Hall suggests regulating the possession of 3D printers.

On Thursday, the Winnipeg Police Service announced the seizure of a firearm created in part from a 3D printer. The phenomenon is growing in Winnipeg, according to police inspector Elton Hall.

After an investigation conducted in collaboration with the Canada Border Services Agency, Winnipeg police have arrested a 24-year-old Winnipegger on charges including manufacturing and trafficking firearms.

Police allege that in April 2022, the man attempted to purchase gun parts in Calgary using another person's identity. He then managed to buy gun parts in Montreal, using a second false identity.

The police department points out that these gun parts were used to assemble a 3D printed gun, which was then sold to a third party between April and May this year.

A first search warrant executed in Winnipeg yielded a 3D-printed gun. Then, a second search warrant executed in the northeast of the city resulted in the seizure of various firearm parts and 3D printed ammunition.

Police say , the arrested man was not acting alone. It is part of a larger network, which police continue to investigate.

• Changes requested to improve downtown safety of Winnipeg

• Violent crime is on the rise in Winnipeg

A Winnipegois from 24-year-old faces multiple charges after allegedly manufacturing and distributing 3D-printed firearms and weapon parts. According to the police, the arrested man was not acting alone.

Winnipeg Police Inspector and Organized Crime Unit Commander Elton Hall says police need help from the federal government, if only to curb the parts used to make weapons from 3D printer.

In fact, since the beginning of the year, 27 homicides have been committed in Winnipeg, including 11 by firearms. Of those 11 gun homicides, the inspector says two or three involved weapons created in part with a 3D printer.

“The city at one of the highest rates of 3D printed weapons in the country.

— Winnipeg Police Inspector Elton Hall

Despite the expansion of this phenomenon, the inspector points to the legal vacuum surrounding the trafficking of firearms in fire. He points out that the Criminal Code does not specifically prohibit trafficking in gun parts.

You can basically disassemble a gun, move it down the street, putting it together and using it, and while you're moving it, transporting it…there's nothing illegal [about that]. The police can't do anything about it, he added.

Elton Hall clarifies that the only part of a 3D printed gun that is currently explicitly prohibited is the handle.

It also suggests that owning a 3D printer is regulated by law.