Large stash of weapons, explosives found in van in Montreal

MONTREAL—Police found a large stash of weapons and explosives yesterday after an investigation of a suspicious minivan tied up traffic through downtown streets for several hours.

Montreal police sent in a robot to examine several pieces of luggage after SWAT team members in full protective gear investigated the vehicle.

They seized about 15 firearms, including automatic weapons like machine guns, and also found 90-135 kilograms of explosives.

"The only good news is that the explosives and the detonators were not connected so it could not explode," said police spokesman Miguel Alston.

Police couldn't say what type of explosives were involved, or who they belonged to. "We cannot confirm any organization at this point," said Alston.

Police had been warned about the vehicle carrying commercial Quebec licence plates from a source, but didn't receive a call through 911.