Saskatchewan RCMP arrested 16 adults, including cult leader Romana Didulo, in the village of Richmound on Wednesday after a firearms investigation.

At a news conference on Wednesday afternoon in Regina, Insp. Ashley St. Germaine said RCMP executed a search warrant at a privately owned decommissioned school in Richmound at around 4:30 a.m CST.

Didulo and her followers have been living for two years in the village of approximately 118 people, located 365 kilometres west of Regina, near the Alberta border.

St. Germaine said RCMP got a report on Aug. 25 of one of the building's occupants possessing a firearm. That led to the investigation that culminated in the raid.

"A team of skilled and experienced senior officers was established to oversee this large and complex operation," she said.

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