Authorities have arrested five people and charged them with a long list of charges related to drugs and guns following the seizure of stolen guns last week.

The Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team (ALERT) says they concluded an investigation on January 23, seizing 16 guns believed to be stolen from homes throughout Red Deer and Central Alberta.

ALERT says the firearms were found when they executed a search warrant on a home in downtown Red Deer.

Officials say the seizure indicates the importance of a few different things. "It obviously highlights the importance of the safe storage of firearms and reporting firearms when they're stolen to police so that we can follow up on those investigations," says Acting Inspector for the ALERT regional teams Chad Coles.

Five people were arrested and 1,000 rounds of ammunition, 28 grams of methamphetamine, and a variety of stolen property was also seized along with the guns.

The five people arrested are facing a total of 230 charges:

  • Joseph Daniel Swain, 30
  • Joseph Russell Sinclair, 26
  • Stephanie Dawn Hughes, 31
  • Angie Faye Deneff, 33
  • Amanda Dawn Fox, 31

ALERT also says that one of the men arrested, Joseph Swain, was arrested during a traffic stop at which time police found two handguns concealed in the car. Ammunition was located in the center console.

Swain was also bound by a ten-year firearms prohibition from an earlier decision against him.

ALERT says this seizure is particularly significant because of the sharp increase of break and enters with the express intent to steal firearms.

Coles says it's also significant because ALERT is very responsive to crime trends in the province. "We're conducting investigations that are having a positive impact on public safety in this province. The fact that these guns are in the hands of criminals, it's important to get them off the streets."

Between 2008 and 2013, there was a 1440% increase in the number of these incidents.