As 2017 begins, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) shares the top stories from its operations in Winnipeg and southern Manitoba last year. Each of these stories highlights the important role that CBSA officers play in protecting Manitobans.

  1. The top story of 2016 was a record sentence following a CBSA child pornography investigation. This case dates back to July 2015, when officers at the Sprague border crossing discovered prohibited images on a traveller’s electronic devices. On March 1, 2016, Robert William Roske of Minnesota pleaded guilty to attempting to smuggle child pornography and was handed a 2.5-year jail sentence – the longest in Canada resulting from a child pornography cross-border smuggling case investigated by the CBSA. Protecting children is a top priority for the CBSA, which also announced a Manitoba pilot partnership with the Canadian Centre for Child Protection to help intercept missing and abducted children.
  2. Coming in second is a gun seizure made on December 10 at the Emerson border crossing. Officers uncovered a loaded handgun in an Illinois man’s vehicle and charges were laid by CBSA Investigations Unit. The man pleaded guilty in Winnipeg Provincial Court on December 22 to smuggling under the Customs Act.  He was sentenced to time served (11 days) and a $9,000 court fine. In 2016, southern Manitoba officers seized 16 firearms – including 12 handguns – and 11 prohibited weapons that were not declared.
  3. To protect the integrity of Canada’s immigration system, the CBSA Criminal Investigations unit laid charges against alleged unauthorized consultants in September and December in separate immigration fraud cases. Both cases involve Winnipeg men and are currently before the courts. The CBSA’s Inland Enforcement unit in Winnipeg removed 41 individuals who were not authorized to be in Canada due to criminal inadmissibility. These included two men removed after serving sentences for robbery at gunpoint and manslaughter.
  4. CBSA officers in Manitoba made 108 drug-related seizures, and throughout the year intercepted more than 15 litres of gamma-butyrolactone (GBL) being illegally imported into Winnipeg. GBL is a controlled substance and the precursor drug used in the manufacturing of gamma-hydroxybutyric acid, one of the substances used as a “date rape drug.” In August, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police charged a Winnipeg man for allegedly importing fentanyl into Canada. This was the result of a joint investigation following a CBSA seizure of 39 grams of fentanyl at the Vancouver International Mail Centre. The fentanyl was in a parcel originating from China and destined to a Winnipeg address.
  5. Finally, on August 26, 2016, CBSA officers from Winnipeg welcomed more than 1,000 passengers and 600 crew members of a cruise ship in Ulukhaktok, Northwest Territories, as  the Crystal Serenity made its historic voyage through the Northwest Passage from Alaska. This was the first time the CBSA processed travellers aboard a large cruise ship in Northern Canada. Officers boarded the ship by zodiac to identify travellers and determine their admissibility to Canada.