West Shore RCMP have impounded a vehicle from a woman found to be driving while impaired with drugs, and seized a number of firearms from the vehicle.
On November 28, at around 9:30 p.m., an officer conducting patrols near Helmcken Rd and Island Hwy in View Royal saw a vehicle that kept swerving.
When that vehicle was pulled over, the officer found that the woman driving it was not the registered owner and did not have a valid drivers licence.
Police then issued the woman a notice of driving prohibition and the vehicle was towed.
The woman then called the registered owner of the vehicle to come pick her up. At that point, the registered owner of the vehicle — a 23-year-old Saanich resident — drove to the scene, showing obvious signs of drug impairment.
The West Shore RCMP, who police say is a drug recognition expert, conducted an impaired driving investigation and found that the woman was impaired by drugs.
Her vehicle was then impounded. When the officer continued his investigation, he found several firearms inside the vehicle including 4 semi-automatic rifles and 1 semi-automatic shotgun.
One of the rifles and the shotgun were found to be loaded.
“Although the woman did have a valid Firearms licence, loaded firearms in a vehicle are illegal,” said Cst. Nancy Saggar.
“It is also unknown why the woman had so many firearms in the vehicle with her. Given her impaired state and the unsafe storage, this was a public safety concern and the guns were seized.”
The woman is expected to face impaired driving and firearms related charges.
