The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) is pleased to share a sample of enforcement highlights from its border crossings in southern Manitoba and Winnipeg operations from spring 2016.
Firearms and magazines seized by Emerson CBSA officers in July 2015.
Since March, CBSA officers in Manitoba seized 36 prohibited weapons and firearms, and made 39 narcotic seizures. Here is a sampling of seizures made this past spring:
- On March 30, CBSA officers in Boissevain arrested a 21-year-old Manitoba man for smuggling three undeclared 30-round automatic rifle magazines. The man paid a $500 penalty for the magazines.
- On May 4, Emerson officers seized a loaded undeclared 380 semi-automatic handgun from a female traveller en route to Alaska. Officers located the gun in a bag of clothing inside a trailer the woman was towing. The woman paid a $1,000 penalty and was also refused entry for previous criminality, and was returned to the United States (U.S).
- Since April, Winnipeg Air Cargo officers have made six significant seizures of gamma-Butyrolactone, a known precursor drug for manufacturing the date rape drug. The drugs, in liquid form, were seized in separate shipments in quantities of two (1 litre) bottles declared as clear liquid detergent.
- Winnipeg commercial officers also made four significant seizures of khat (Catha edulis) this spring, seizing over five kilograms in each shipment. One shipment was declared as an herbal product and the other as containing food and clothing.
CBSA officers in Manitoba made multiple arrests and refused entry to foreign nationals for criminality:
- In March, a 23-year-old U.S. man was arrested by Emerson officers on suspicion of impaired driving. He was also refused entry for serious criminal convictions in the U.S. related to domestic assault with intent to cause bodily harm, an impaired driving offence and restraining order violations.
- In April, Emerson officers refused entry to a 47-year-old North Carolina male commercial driver for previous criminality related to solicitation of a minor. Emerson officers also refused entry to a 63-year-old man for serious criminality related to a conviction for second degree child molestation in the U.S.
- In May, Piney officers arrested a 32-year-old Manitoba man for impaired driving. The man failed the Approved Screening Device test administered by officers, and he was turned over to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
In April, 37-year-old Shawn Toher of Alaska, received a $15,000 fine in Winnipeg Provincial Court for attempting to smuggle multiple firearms at the Emerson border crossing in July 2015. Winnipeg Criminal Investigations pursued charges against Toher after Emerson officers located multiple undeclared weapons in his vehicle and trailer, consisting of three handguns, one assault rifle, one non-restricted rifle, and 63 overcapacity firearms magazines.
