BURSTA Valemount man will spend three years behind bars after a gang-busting police team found a pistol, ammunition and illicit drugs on him in a Kamloops traffic stop.
Officers with the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit of B.C.’s Uniform Gang Enforcement Team initiated the traffic stop on March 22, 2024, after observing an electric motorbike commit multiple traffic violations.
The driver did not stop for police and was arrested a short time later, according to a press release from the Special Enforcement Unit.
A search of the driver led to the seizure of illicit drugs, cash, a Girsan semi-automatic pistol, six rounds of ammunition and a pistol magazine and holster.
The driver was identified as 48-year-old Christopher Fillingham of Valemount.
Officers determined Fillingham was subject to a court-ordered weapons ban at the time of the incident.
The BC Prosecution Service approved two charges against Fillingham in October 2024: unauthorized possession of a loaded restricted firearm and possession of a restricted firearm while prohibited.
Fillingham entered a guilty plea to the unauthorized possession charge on Nov. 10, 2025. He was then sentenced to three years in jail in B.C. Supreme Court in Kamloops.
The court added a lifetime firearms prohibition and a DNA order.
“Uniform Gang Enforcement Team officers work tirelessly across the province to investigate individuals who pose a risk to public safety through violence, weapons, and illicit drug activity,” said Sgt. Sarbjit K. Sangha, media relations officer for the Special Enforcement Unit. “This sentence reflects the seriousness of the offence and the ongoing work underway to disrupt violent criminal behaviour in our communities.”