A Calgary man is facing charges of firearms trafficking after an eight-month investigation by ALERT's guns and gang unit.

Philip Edward Sarrasin, 26, is accused of running a straw purchasing scheme, where he legally bought multiple handguns which later turned up for sale on the criminal market.

Straw purchasing involves someone without a criminal record — and who has a valid Possession and Acquisition License (PAL) — buying firearms for someone who otherwise could not, or doesn't want their name linked with the transaction, the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams (ALERT) said in a release.

Investigators believe Sarrasin purchased seven handguns over a nine-month period starting in February 2016.

4 guns unaccounted for

Three of the guns later surfaced during police investigations, including a Glock handgun seized by Toronto police during a drug arrest last month, and a loaded gun found along a Calgary rail line last December.

The other firearms bought by Sarrasin are unaccounted for.

Sarrasin was arrested on Oct. 24 in cooperation with Calgary police, ALERT said.

He has been charged with firearms trafficking, possession of a firearm at an unauthorized place, and failing to report a lost firearm.



ALERT is a compilation of the province's most sophisticated law enforcement resources focused on serious and organized crime, including members of the Calgary Police Service, the Edmonton Police Service, the Lethbridge Police Service, the Medicine Hat Police Service, as well as officers from the RCMP.