In the 1970s I was posted to Canadianicon National Defence Headquarters in Ottawa. One of my friends was also posted there in the small arms shop. He had access to small arms inventories. He had noted that several thousands ( tens of thousands) of LB No4s had been removed from inventory from the Depot in Montreal. Based on some inquiries he stated that these had been taken from stock, by a few selected personnel on a weekend. There was also a request for a million rounds of .303. There were not enough rounds in inventory so, as the tail continues, additional ammunition was purchased from Canadian Tire. The suspicion was that the buyer was the CIA.
I would be interested to know if a number of rifles captured in Afghanistan were LBs.