A silencer illegally imported through the mail last fall led to the Canada Border Services Agency's (CBSA) largest gun seizure in Quebec in recent years.
Published at 11:58 am. Updated at 12:11 p.m
A total of 61 firearms, 13 prohibited weapons, 22 compressed air weapons as well as several silencers and ammunition were confiscated from a residence in Gatineau on February 6, the CBSA said at a press conference in Montreal on Wednesday.
“What surprised us was the amount of weapons,” said Tony De Santos, Canada Border Services Agency deputy director of criminal investigations for Quebec. We expected to find weapons, but not that many. This is the largest firearms seizure by the agency in Quebec in at least five years,” he said.
The weapons were seized during a search conducted jointly by the CBSA Integrated Firearms Smuggling Team and the Gatineau Police Department at a residence in Versant County.
PHOTO PATRICK SANFAÇON, THE PRESS
A 62-year-old man was arrested at the scene and then released while investigations and analysis are ongoing. “At the conclusion of the investigation, charges will be brought before the Canadian Public Prosecution Service,” Mr. De Santos said.
Silencer blocked
The investigation was triggered by the discovery of a silencer.
The silencer, a device banned in Canada, was seized by the CBSA in a courier package from China at commercial operations at Toronto's Pearson Airport last November.
“Investigations revealed that the importer was a Gatineau resident associated with previous customs seizures of prohibited weapons,” the CBSA stated.
The majority of the weapons seized were unrestricted weapons, De Santos said.
“Most of the weapons come from American manufacturers. We are currently examining the weapons' serial numbers to determine how they ended up in Canada. »
Analyzing packages from abroad is a growing challenge for the CBSA. Last year, no fewer than 107 million packages were cleared through customs in Canada, a record. That corresponded to almost 300,000 packages per day.