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An Edmonton man will be the first person sentenced in Alberta for a so-called “straw purchasing” offence related to domestic weapons trafficking.

Justin Scott Shipowich, 38, pleaded guilty Wednesday to one count of possession of restricted firearms for the purposes of trafficking.

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Court heard that straw purchasing is when a person with a non-existent or minor criminal record buys weapons and then sells them to someone who wouldn’t legally be able to themselves.

According to an agreed statement of facts, Shipowich legally purchased 40 restricted firearms between June and September 2016, including 38 handguns and one semi-automatic rifle, worth about $27,300.

He admitted at least 39 of the guns were to sell to “unknown persons” for a profit.

Court heard that only five of the weapons have been recovered by police, including one that was seized following a robbery in Toronto.

“This is a fairly novel criminal activity in Canada,” said Crown prosecutor Adam Garrett, who argued that the unknown whereabouts of the remaining guns means this type of crime has serious safety implications, both locally and nationally.