A rocket launcher that ended up in the Hartland landfill gave staff quite a scare, but Saanich police said the once-deadly weapon is now as potent as a toy gun.
Saanich police recovered the old piece of military weaponry in the landfill after an employee found it in a large garbage bin beyond the weigh scales on Sept. 4.
The metre-long rocket launcher, which can only be used once and now is inert, is likely a collector’s item that someone decided to dispose of, but not in the best way, said Saanich police spokesman Sgt. Steve Eassie.
The army green, hollow device has “inert” stamped on the side of it and its missile-guidance system is not intact. Manufactured in the 1960s or 1970s, the weapon could have been used to shoot down planes in the Vietnam war, Eassie speculated.
It’s not illegal to possess military memorabilia, Eassie said, but a rocket launcher would cause quite a scare if someone was seen carrying it around.
“It is visually quite intimidating,” Eassie said. “If you saw someone walking down the street with this, it would prompt quite a police response.”
Eassie said there are few clues as to who the owner was.
The proper protocol for getting rid of firearms or military equipment is to call police officers, who would ensure it was safely destroyed, Eassie said.
