11 People Have Been Arrested At Alberta's Coutts Border Crossing & Lots Of Guns Were Seized

The Alberta RCMP has arrested and detained 11 people at the Coutts border crossing after it received information that the group had access to “a cache of firearms with a large quantity of ammunition”.

An “immediate and complex” investigation was launched into the group who reportedly had a “willingness to use force against the police if any attempts were made to disrupt the blockade”, Alberta RCMP said.

“As a result of this investigation, the Alberta RCMP executed a search warrant during the early hours of Feb 14, on three trailers associated to this criminal organization. This resulted in the arrest and detainment of 11 individuals,” it added.

As a result of the search warrant, Alberta RCMP seized 13 long guns, handguns, multiple sets of body armour, a machete and a large quantity of ammunition.

Two further arrests were made within 24 hours including the arrest of an individual returning to the protest site in which two weapons were seized.

The Alberta RCMP also reported a separate incident where a semi-truck approached an RCMP check stop north of Milk River when the driver “accelerated and drove towards” officers.

“The driver swerved at the last moment and hit some traffic cones which were on the roadway. The driver was arrested close to the scene for criminal code offences,” Alberta RCMP said.

Further incidents included a farm tractor and a semi-truck involved in the blockade attempting to “ram a police vehicle”, the Alberta RCMP said.

The driver of the tractor has been identified and officers are “actively working to locate him so he can be taken into custody”, it added. The farm tractor and semi-truck involved in this incident have already been seized.

Protesters have been gathering and impeding access to the Coutts border crossing to oppose Covid-19 vaccine mandates for two weeks. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced he would invoke the Emergencies Act for the first time in order to handle ongoing protests across Canada.

The Alberta RCMP said it “will resume efforts to end the illegal blockade” and encourage protestors to “leave immediately or relocate to the designated site for the legal protest”.