A young man with suspected ties to Surrey’s low-level drug trade has been arrested after allegedly confining a woman in a car, crashing the vehicle, then asking teenagers to help him hide a gun.
Mounties said the shocking series of events started the morning of Nov. 12, when officers were called to check on a domestic disturbance in the city’s Guildford neighbourhood.
By the time they arrived at the scene, a 22-year-old suspect had allegedly fled in a car with a woman he knows trapped inside.
Sgt. Paul Hayes told CTV Vancouver he couldn’t provide further details on their relationship or how the woman was confined, but said she “wasn’t free to leave the vehicle.”
Shortly after, Mounties received a call that the car had crashed at 148th Street and 80B Avenue, where officers managed to arrest the driver and locate the captured woman, who was returned to her family unharmed.
But before officers arrived at the crash site, the RCMP alleges the suspect asked two underage Good Samaritans to help hide a weapon.
“The car is crashed and two young men hear this crash, and they go to assist as any people might in an accident,” Hayes said.
“While they were there the person apparently handed them a loaded firearm and asked them to hide it.”
The teenagers took the gun home and told one of their fathers, who reported it to police.
Mounties said their subsequent investigation into the suspect turned up a loaded AK47 assault rifle, a restricted handgun, and large quantities of cocaine and heroin.
Saleh Mohammed has since been charged with a slew of serious offences, including possession with the purposes of trafficking, forcible confinement, possession of a prohibited weapon, uttering threats toward police, careless use of a firearm with ammunition, and two counts of assault.
Mohammed is being held in custody pending a court appearance on Nov. 25.
The RCMP boasted that the suspect’s arrest represents a significant blow to the local drug trade.
Anyone with more information on the case is asked to contact the Surrey RCMP detachment at 604-599-0502, or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS to remain anonymous.
