At CFB Shearwater, a break-in at the armoury sent the base into a tailspin. With some pistols and submachine guns gone, the RCMP moved in, searching everything from personal lockers to aircraft hangars. For VU32 squadron, the timing couldn't have been worse—it was right in the middle of the annual Christmas "booze run."
The Xmas booze operation was a bit of a mystery: you gave the guys an empty 26er and five dollars, and they’d return it filled with rum. Word was they had stainless steel containers fitted into the wheel wells of the Trackers for secret runs to St. Pierre. As the RCMP scoured the base, the squadron scrambled to keep the rum out of sight. The heat only died down when the burglars—Quebecers with FLQ ties—were caught. They had stashed the heavy weaponry in an old silo near Eastern Passage, but their undoing was a single, shiny ceremonial sword one of the men had foolishly hidden in his locker.
