Handgun 'straw purchaser' with gambling addiction sentenced to eight years in prison

[Wendell]

Edmonton police began investigating Kevin Walid Sifeldeen in January 2017 after learning of his suspicious firearms purchases. That March, officers covertly entered Sifeldeen’s condo and found bags of cocaine, marijuana and five empty handgun cases with serial numbers matching guns Sifeldeen had purchased. Investigators also found an additional handgun with a defaced serial number. Sifeldeen was arrested April 6, 2017, following a drug deal. A subsequent search of his condo found 3.5 kg of marijuana, about 94 grams of cocaine and five grams of the cannabis concentrate “shatter.” Police also found a .45 calibre pistol, 19 rounds of ammunition, $3,090 cash and a scale covered in drug residue. According to an agreed statement of facts, Sifeldeen legally bought 19 handguns at stores around Edmonton between 2014 and 2017. Sifeldeen held a restricted firearms licence allowing him to purchase the weapons, which he then sold to people without such licences. Police have since found five of the guns on people suspected of crimes in jurisdictions across Alberta. One gun was recovered in Sifeldeen’s condo, another in his parent’s house, while 12 are unaccounted for. Ten of the handguns he bartered “for some level of relief for his gambling debts,” the agreed facts state, adding Silfdeen would not provide the names of those creditors to police. The judge said he also had to deter and denounce such crimes, saying “both of these areas of criminal activity have tremendous potential to do harm in a community.” Sentenced to eight years in prison, Sifeldeen, 34, received no credit for time in pretrial custody.
https://edmontonjournal.com/news/local-news/handgun-straw-purchaser-with-gambling-addiction-sentenced-to-eight-years-in-prison