A silencer illegally imported by mail last fall led to the largest weapons seizure in recent years in Quebec by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA).
In total, 61 firearms, 13 prohibited weapons, 22 compressed air weapons as well as several silencers and ammunition were seized on February 6 in a residence in Gatineau, the CBSA announced Wednesday at a press briefing in Montreal.
“What surprised us was the quantity of weapons,” said Tony De Santos, deputy director of the criminal investigations section of the Canada Border Services Agency for Quebec. We expected to find weapons, but not as many. This is the Agency’s largest firearms seizure in Quebec in at least 5 years,” he said.
The weapons were seized during a search conducted jointly by the CBSA’s integrated firearms smuggling team and the Gatineau Police Department in a residence in the Versant district.
PHOTO PATRICK SANFAÇON, THE PRESS
On site, a 62-year-old man was arrested, then released while the investigation and analysis continue. “Charges will be recommended to the Public Prosecution Service of Canada upon completion of the investigation,” said Mr. De Santos.
Silencer seized
It was the discovery of a silencer that triggered the investigation.
The silencer, a prohibited device in Canada, was seized in a courier package from China by the CBSA at commercial operations at Pearson Airport in Toronto last November.
“Research identified the importer as a resident of Gatineau linked to previous customs seizures for prohibited weapons,” noted the CBSA.
The majority of weapons seized are non-restricted weapons, De Santos said.
“Most weapons come from American manufacturers. We are currently investigating the serial numbers of the weapons to see how they arrived in Canada. »
Analyzing packages from abroad is a growing challenge for the CBSA. Last year, no less than 107 million packages were cleared through customs in Canada, a record. This represented nearly 300,000 packages per day.