Community Alert: Major Firearm Seizure in Dauphin, Manitoba

On July 7, officers from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) executed two search warrants at a residence in Dauphin, Manitoba as part of a months-long firearms trafficking investigation. The operation led to the seizure of a large cache of weapons, ammunition and cash from a single property.

A 78-year-old Dauphin resident, identified by RCMP as Inky Mark, has been charged with multiple firearms and property-related offences following the search. Investigators are now working through a substantial amount of seized evidence to determine the full scope of potential illegal firearms activity connected to this case.

Official Incident Details

The investigation began in late March, when RCMP were informed that firearms-related charges had been laid in the United States against a 73-year-old male from the Dauphin area. That notification triggered a Canadian investigation, which resulted in further charges against that first individual.

During a search warrant in that earlier matter, RCMP located firearms that had been purchased by a second suspect but were never lawfully transferred. This finding led the National Weapons Enforcement Support Team (NWEST) to obtain two additional search warrants for the second suspect’s home in Dauphin.

The July 7 warrants were carried out by NWEST and the Manitoba West District General Investigation Section, with assistance from several specialized RCMP units, including:

• Manitoba West District Crime Reduction Enforcement Support Team (CREST)
• Manitoba Provincial Serious and Organized Crime
• Emergency Response Team
• Dauphin RCMP
• Police Dog Services

From the Dauphin residence, investigators seized:

• 439 firearms
• An antique cannon
• Ammunition (various quantities)
• More than $300,000 in cash

RCMP advise that it will take several weeks to fully catalogue the seized weapons and related evidence and to verify how many of the firearms were unlawfully possessed. At this stage of the investigation, officers believe at least three firearms were illegally trafficked, and one firearm was found with its serial number altered.

Charges Laid Against 78-Year-Old Dauphin Man

Inky Mark, 78, of Dauphin, has been charged with the following offences:

• Firearm trafficking
• Possession of a firearm with a tampered serial number
• Possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000
• Careless use of a firearm (two counts)
• Possession of a firearm while knowing possession is unauthorized
• Possession of a prohibited device while knowing possession is unauthorized (two counts)
• Possession of a restricted/prohibited weapon with ammunition without a licence
• Unsafe storage of firearms (three counts)

RCMP report that Mark was initially remanded into custody and has since been released on a release order. The investigation remains active and ongoing.

Residents who wish to better understand local trends in gun-related and other offences can review Dauphin, Manitoba crime statistics and safety data on CrimeCanada.ca, as well as broader Dauphin-area safety indicators to see how major enforcement actions like this may fit into long-term patterns.

CrimeCanada.ca Safety Perspective

From the perspective of CrimeCanada.ca, the seizure of hundreds of firearms and prohibited devices in a community like Dauphin is highly significant for public safety across Manitoba. Large, unsecured or illegally held weapon collections can increase the risk of theft, diversion to criminal networks, and accidental injury or death, even when they are stored in private residences.

Community members can support safer neighbourhoods by securely storing any legally owned firearms, ensuring all licensing and registrations are up to date, and promptly reporting suspicious weapons activity—such as unusually frequent firearms transactions, unsecured guns, or weapons being offered for sale without proper documentation—to local RCMP or other police services. While there is no specific public warning or suspect search related to this incident at this time, ongoing vigilance, lawful storage, and responsible reporting are key to preventing illegally trafficked or improperly stored firearms from putting the wider community at risk.

Official Source & Community Safety

This safety alert is based on an official release from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). CrimeCanada.ca aggregates and analyzes this data to keep the manitoba community informed, aware, and safe. We are an independent safety data aggregator and not the original creators of the underlying incident report.

Read the full official release here: RCMP Official Statement.