RCMP hunt for handgun stolen from post office

LIBAU, Man. -- Mounties are trying to recover a handgun they say was in a parcel stolen from a rural Manitoba post office.

RCMP Sgt. Line Karpish says the SAM Commander 9-mm semi-automatic pistol was being shipped from a distributor to a customer when there was a break-in at the post office in Libau on May 30.

Karpish says there have been several recent thefts from post offices and rural mailboxes in the region north of Winnipeg and investigators think it was only coincidence the thieves got the gun.

She says the intended recipient of the package was legally entitled to buy the gun and it's legal to ship a gun through the mail.

Karpish says Mounties are only now releasing news that the gun was stolen because they had hoped to recover it before going public.

She says they decided that they couldn't wait any longer and are now asking for public assistance.