In their continued commitment to keeping our borders safe and secure, Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) officers in southern Manitoba executed 172 seizure actions of various goods, including weapons, drugs, and child pornography last year. They also refused entry to those with criminal histories and those seeking entry to Canada for illegitimate reasons. Officers arrested ten people for suspicion for impaired driving and 23 others on outstanding warrants.
CBSA officers at the port of Sprague seized guns, mobile meth lab and child pornography in 2015.
The CBSA is pleased to share a few firearms seizure highlights from its southern Manitoba border crossings:
- On August 1, Emerson officers seized five undeclared guns and 62 prohibited large-capacity magazines from a 36-year-old Alaska man towing a trailer. The firearms included three handguns, one fully automatic and one semi-automatic rifle. The man was arrested, and later released on bail with a promise to appear.
- At the port of South Junction, a 57-year-old North Dakota man initially declared one firearm, but failed to declare a second firearm – a prohibited .9mm semi-automatic pistol when seeking entry on August 4. The man paid a $1,000 penalty and returned to the U.S.
- On September 8, Winkler officers seized a prohibited handgun and over capacity magazine from a 23-year-old Minnesota man. CBSA officers found the handgun in a case in the vehicle’s centre console. The man paid a $1,500 penalty for failure to declare and returned to the U.S.
- On November 23, a 55-year-old U.S. man received a $12,000 fine for attempting to smuggle a firearm at the Sprague border crossing in September. Winnipeg Criminal Investigations pursued charges after Sprague CBSA officers located an undeclared semi-automatic .40 calibre pistol and over capacity magazine during a secondary examination of the man’s vehicle.
A Wisconsin man was sentenced to 18 months incarceration for unlawful possession and attempted smuggling of child pornography in December following a seizure at the port of Sprague in May. Sprague officers also uncovered a mobile methamphetamine laboratory in June containing 85 g of the drug. A 35 year-old Minnesota man was arrested and turned over to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
In October, CBSA officers at Gretna port of entry were quick to intervene and assist a U.S. commercial driver who was experiencing medical issues. To ensure his safety, CBSA officers worked quickly with U.S. authorities so the man could receive medical care in his own country.
