A medical call in Mission turned into the seizure of almost 1,000 pieces of unexploded ordnance, firearms and ammunition.

Paramedics spotted a box of grenades while attending a residence on 7th Avenue near Horne Street in June.  Mission RCMP then called two Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) teams from the Fleet Diving Unit (Pacific) to help with the cache of weapons. 

According to Mission RCMP, the 70-year-old resident was a collector of various military memorabilia and cooperated with the investigation.  

Master sailor Charlie Chamberlain, the lead operator on the call for EOD, says first responders initially saw a single grenade sitting on a bench in the man鈥檚 kitchen and another box of grenades in a back room. 

鈥淗e had numerous posters on his walls of different munitions and grenades and military pictures. By the looks of what he had in his place and outside in an enclosed trailer, he was definitely an avid collector,鈥� Chamberlain said. 

The collection included grenades, mortars, a 1000-pound practice bomb, anti-tank rounds, high-explosive squash head rounds, and hundreds of different types of munitions. 

鈥淗e made his own small arms. So, we even found a working 50-calibre machine gun with a ... stand,鈥� Chamberlain said. 

Chamberlain said it鈥檚 the biggest seizure that he鈥檚 ever seen. 

鈥淣ormally when we get calls, it might be for a single item or maybe a couple 鈥� but normally it's just maybe a single grenade or a single mortar. There might be a handful of them, but definitely not around 1,000 items,鈥� he said. 

Mission RCMP said there was no indication the man intended to use any of the items in a malicious manner.  

鈥淒ue to the totality of the circumstances, investigators determined that it was not in the public interest to recommend any criminal charges,鈥� the detachment said in a statement. 

The ordnance took two days to secure on scene before it was transported away. Upon arrival, the EOD team identified the objects, rendered them safe and transported them to a military base in a 鈥渇rag bag鈥�.

鈥淎fter we render it safe on scene, we take it to a military range and we basically blow it up,鈥� Chamberlain said. 

Mission RCMP say anyone who comes across explosive ordnances of any kind should not handle them, and immediately call local police.