The man from Gatineau arrested Wednesday morning and suspected of manufacturing and trafficking in firearms is a former employee of a federal agency.
According to his Facebook profile, Tobie Laurin-Lépine had been working as an audiovisual and multimedia technician for Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) since 2012. The 34-year-old suspect was scheduled to appear Wednesday afternoon at the Gatineau courthouse.
“This person is a former employee, who has not been employed by PSPC since 2016,” PSPC media relations confirmed. Public relations officers did not give details of the reasons for his departure.
Information received from the public enabled the police to search the residence for evidence. “The items seized will be used to demonstrate the implication of the suspect in criminal activities”, one explains in a press release.
The operation was carried out by police officers from the Outaouais Regional Mixed Squad (ERM) in collaboration with the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and the Service de police de la Ville de Gatineau (SPVG) in accordance with the CENTAURE provincial strategy.
“This search demonstrates, once again, the importance of collaboration and efforts in the area of firearms by all police services in Quebec. An operation of this magnitude confirms the effectiveness of the concerted strike force, ”said Captain Simon Riverin, head of the organized crime investigation service.
Laurin-Lépine has no criminal record. The thirty-something, amateur airplane pilot, regularly posted on social networks his opposition to vaccination and wearing a mask.
The authorities recall that all information related to the possession, trafficking or use of firearms can be communicated to the CENTAURE information line at 1-833-888-ARME (2763).