This is a mistake that could cost him dearly. A Canadian septuagenarian who thought he had dialed the information number actually called the police, who discovered at his home and then confiscated a hundred improperly stored firearms.
Officers of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP, federal police) announced Wednesday that they had discovered two days earlier 94 rifles and six pistols in this residence located in Chebogue, in the province of Nova Scotia (east).
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The 73-year-old owner had the guns legally but had not properly stored them, dismantled them or put them in a locked locker, so they were confiscated and the man was briefly arrested.
Federal police visited the man's home on Monday as a precaution to ensure his safety, although he explained his mistake over the phone. He had dialed 911, the police number, when he wanted to reach 411, the white pages.
The policy of the RCMP is indeed to move to each call, even in the event of a wrong number or if someone hangs up: it may for example be a question of an injured person unable to speak, or of a person directly threatened and not being free of her words, explained Jennifer Clarke, spokesperson for the Nova Scotia RCMP.
Once there, officers quickly spotted the weapons. "They were in plain sight. As soon as our officers walked in, they noticed them," Corporal Clarke said. The man was released pending a court appearance in Yarmouth on October 5, police said.
