Baltimore police officers raided the home of Mustafa Alif last week and took seven of his guns, says the Baltimore Sun. It was the second time they searched the house and the second time they seized some of the same guns. In 2001, officers collected eight of Alif’s guns but later returned them. In January, a handgun that was taken and later returned to Alif was used to kill a city police officer. Police said about a half-dozen weapons once owned by Alif have been traced to criminal activity in the city. Alif said the weapons connected with crimes were stolen from his house in 1999; he believes he’s being used as a “political football” in an election year.
The case reflects a more aggressive stance the police department is taking against those who carry or sell illegal weapons. It was one of the first seizures made by the re-established police gun unit that Mayor Sheila Dixon announced in April. The unit includes state troopers, a Baltimore County officer and a federal agent, and it has 38 open gun cases. Police have taken possession of 1,608 guns as of June 15 this year, an increase over last year, when police collected 1,469 guns in the same time period.
Link: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/baltimore_city/bal-md.ci.gun24jun24,0,1451288.story?coll=