Homemade guns in Winnipeg - 'Zip Guns'

Meth head Leslie Beaulieu is good with his hands, but the craftsmanship he became known for on Winnipeg's streets is for only one thing, violent ends. The 27-year-old fashioned raw materials into weapons. He was busted with a cache of 11 homemade guns in various states of completion.

Winnipeg cops seized three homemade 'bang stick' guns in August 2017. One was built using a cane and had a spent .410 round inside it.

Beaulieu pleaded guilty to possessing meth and a restricted firearm and manufacturing firearms, and was sentenced to 4½ years. Cops seized 90 homemade guns in Winnipeg last year, compared to 53 the year before. A zip gun can cost less than $20 and be built in an hour using parts found virtually anywhere. Beaulieu is retired from the homemade gun industry, but another quickly filled the void.

Accuracy isn't an issue with a zip gun. "It's up close and personal. You pull it out and really no matter how accurate it is, everyone is accurate at one foot away from their intended target."