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A number of firearms were seized from three men, including 27-year-old brothers, as part of an organized crime investigation in Edmonton and Fort McMurray, police said on Wednesday.

The investigation began in the fall of 2017 after police received information about the suspect’s alleged involvement in organized crime.

On May 18, the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams (ALERT) arrested two men and seized a number of items from a southwest Edmonton home, in Windermere, as well as a storage unit, off of Calgary Trail.

“It is quite the arsenal. They obviously had large amounts of ammunition, ballistic vests, [which] can probably speak to their intent to use them. The community is the one that pays the price for that,” Mike Tucker, with ALERT, said.

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During the searches police said they seized a Remington .223-calibre rifle, a Norinco Type 97 5.56-calibre rifle with its serial number removed, a Norinco M14 .308-calibre rifle, a Springfield XDM 9mm handgun with its serial number removed and a threaded barrel, a suppressor, two over-capacity magazines, 64 rounds of ammunition and fraudulent identity documents.

“The next part of the investigation is going to be conducting ballistic testing to determine whether or not they were modified,” Tucker said.

“It appears that at least one of the firearms was perhaps modified to shoot fully automatic. We will be doing more forensic work to determine possible origins.” Tweet This

Alexander and Ryan Kurkut, both 27, are facing 38 charges including firearms offences and possession of forged identity documents. They have been released from custody and are scheduled to appear in court again on June 13.

Alex Kurkut is one of three men facing a number of charges after a joint investigation in Fort McMurray and Edmonton. Alex Kurkut/Facebook Ryan Kurkut is one of three men facing a number of charges after a joint investigation in Fort McMurray and Edmonton. Courtesy: Edmonton Police Service

Both brothers were under lifetime firearms prohibitions as the result of previous convictions at the time of their arrest, ALERT said.

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At the same time, police in Fort McMurray arrested another suspect who they said had a loaded handgun in his waistband when he was arrested.

Police said Nicolas Moores is an associate of the brothers and they seized a number of items from his southwest Edmonton home, as well as five weapons and a bulletproof vest and drug trafficking paraphernalia in Fort McMurray.

Moores faces 23 firearms-related charges.

The Edmonton Police Service, RCMP, ALERT Fort McMurray, Wood Buffalo RCMP, Service Alberta, Vancouver Police and Crime Stoppers were all involved in the investigation.

During the searches police said they seized a Remington .223-calibre rifle, a Norinco Type 97 5.56-calibre rifle with its serial number removed, a Norinco M14 .308-calibre rifle, a Springfield XDM 9mm handgun with its serial number removed and a threaded barrel, a suppressor, two over-capacity magazines, 64 rounds of ammunition and fraudulent identity documents. Kim Smith, Global News During the searches police said they seized a Remington .223-calibre rifle, a Norinco Type 97 5.56-calibre rifle with its serial number removed, a Norinco M14 .308-calibre rifle, a Springfield XDM 9mm handgun with its serial number removed and a threaded barrel, a suppressor, two over-capacity magazines, 64 rounds of ammunition and fraudulent identity documents. Kim Smith, Global News During the searches police said they seized a Remington .223-calibre rifle, a Norinco Type 97 5.56-calibre rifle with its serial number removed, a Norinco M14 .308-calibre rifle, a Springfield XDM 9mm handgun with its serial number removed and a threaded barrel, a suppressor, two over-capacity magazines, 64 rounds of ammunition and fraudulent identity documents. Kim Smith, Global News