June 9, 2020 Mississauga, Ontario Canada Border Services Agency
Today, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) announced the largest single firearm seizure, on record, with the interdiction of 65 prohibited guns at the Toronto Pearson International Airport. The CBSA remains committed to addressing risks and threats in cross-border trade while ensuring essential goods continue to enter Canada’s supply chain during this COVID-19 pandemic period.
On May 27, 2020, officers from the CBSA Commercial Operations Firearms Interdiction Team attended a Brampton warehouse to verify a shipment arriving from the United States. The shipment was declared as “starter guns” in the accompanying Customs commercial declaration. Officers noticed some anomalies with the Customs declaration and upon examination, they discovered several hard plastic cases containing a total of 45 revolvers.
A related shipment was examined and resulted in the seizure of 20 additional revolvers. All of the seized firearms are prohibited in Canada, per the Firearms Reference Table.
The guns will not be released to the importers.
Quotes
“I am proud of my team as they continue to make these important interceptions of firearms to keep them off our streets. The CBSA is committed to detecting and stopping gun smuggling into Canada and to keeping our communities safe. The GTA Region Firearms Interdiction Team will continue to verify all firearms coming into Toronto Pearson, resulting in seizures that will disrupt dangerous criminal networks.”
– Lisa Janes, Regional Director General, Greater Toronto Area Region, Canada Border Services Agency
Quick facts
- Firearms and weapons are high-risk commodities and their interdiction is a CBSA enforcement priority.
- The CBSA and its domestic and international law enforcement partners work together to prevent illegal firearms and weapons from reaching our communities.
- If you have information about suspicious cross-border activity, please contact the CBSA Border Watch Toll free Line at 1-888-502-9060.
- If you have information on suspicious or criminal activities, please contact your local police or anonymously through Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS).