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Military surplus store reopens with new owner

Westley Military Surplus has reopened with a new owner and a new business mandate. In April, New Westminster city council cancelled the business licence for the business at 623 Front St.
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Back in business: Westley Military Surplus has reopened under new ownership.

Westley Military Surplus has reopened with a new owner and a new business mandate.

In April, New Westminster city council cancelled the business licence for the business at 623 Front St. after its owner was charged with a number of criminal offences related to the business. In addition to selling used military supplies and equipment/ supplies relating to camping and outdoor activities, the business had also been licensed under the Canada Firearms Program to sell non-prohibited ammunition.

Keith Coueffin, the city's manager of licensing and integrated services, said the city received an application for a business licence from the business's new owner.

"It's a completely new operator," he said. "It is, to the best of our knowledge, operating in full compliance of all city bylaws and other regulations."

At a show-cause hearing held in April regarding the

business licence, police stated that the previous owner, Westley Baker, provided direction on several occasions to two different undercover police officers on the conversion of starter pistols into functional firearms and sold live ammunition to undercover officers who didn't present the required documentation.

Coueffin told the hearing that the city had received a complaint in October 2010 about the business selling an "air bomb" to a teenager, and a complaint in 2004 about it selling a "bear scare" product (which explodes and makes a loud noise) to a teenager who suffered injuries to the face and hands after it blew up.

Paul Benton, who recently purchased Westley Military Surplus, said the business is no longer selling products that caused concern to police and city officials, including bear spray, bear scare products, dog spray, pellet guns, starter pistols, live ammunition and body armour.

He's posted a sign inside the store stating the business doesn't stock those items - and doesn't know where they can be purchased.

"My feeling was when I went into this, I don't even want that element as a customer," he said. "I want to cater to the cadets. . It's a huge market. I also want to cater to hunters. I can outfit them with their clothing. They know where they can buy their ammunition - I don't have to sell it."

Benton was born in South Africa but moved to New York State with his family when he was a toddler. While visiting family in Ontario, he met his future wife, moved to Ontario and soon after North Vancouver, where he's lived for nearly 20 years.

Benton worked in retail for most of his adult life and retired at the age of 50, but he soon found he was bored and wanted to get back into the workforce.

A former co-worker informed him about the business opportunity and he bought the business, its inventory, its name (minus the Ltd. in Westley Military Surplus Ltd.) and the website.

"I didn't want to change the name," he said. "It's been around 30 years."

In addition to restructuring the website to make it more user-friendly, Benton has also made changes to the store's operations.

"I know I can make a half decent living off stuff that is legit," said Benton, who is now a Canadian citizen. "The stuff interested me. I am interested in military things. I have every DVD known to man about war."

Benton is no stranger to bear territory, noting he grew up in a part of New York State that is home to the largest black bear population in North America.

"We get young kids coming in asking for bear scare and bear spray," he said. "There's not a single day when we don't get them coming in."

Slowly but surely, word is spreading that Westley Military Surplus isn't the same business it was a few months ago.

"It's less and less," he said about requests for bear scare products. "I have heard every reason in the book for bear scare: 'It's where I live. I'm going camping. We have encountered bears.'"

Benton said there's been a "huge learning curve" associated with the store's products, but he's eager to learn. He's also enjoyed discovering the variety of items in the store that's been located on Front Street for many years.

While going through the store's inventory, Benton said he started finding boxes of pink canteens scattered throughout the store. He contacted the cancer society and has decided to raise funds for cancer research.

"I am going to be selling all these pink canteens with a breast cancer sticker on them. They are $3.99. The $3.99 will go to breast cancer research."

A number of City of New Westminster officials have met with Benton about the business.

"The new operator has been made aware of all the past concerns," Coueffin said. "He is fully aware of the requirements to operate the business."

Coueffin said Benton voluntarily offered not to sell any of the items that raised concerns in the past.

Westley Baker is facing five counts of unauthorized transfer of ammunition and one count of manufacturing a firearm. The charges stemmed from a fivemonth police investigation and a Feb. 25 search of the store. Baker is due in court to enter a plea on Aug. 3.

tmcmanus@royalcityrecord.com