The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) managed to obtain nearly a hundred weapons and ammunition stored at a residence in Gatineau, Outaouais, after following the trail of a silencer imported into the country.
In Quebec, this is the largest seizure by border authorities in recent years, Tony Dos Santos, deputy director of criminal investigations for the CBSA in the Quebec region, confirmed at a press conference.
On February 6, a search was carried out at a property in Versant County, where Border Patrol agents went with the Gatineau City Police Department.
On site they found no fewer than 61 firearms, 13 prohibited weapons, 22 air rifles, six silencers and six large magazines as well as ammunition.
Collector or importer?
Authorities were on the trail of the residence after a silencer was intercepted in a package caught in commercial operations at Toronto Pearson Airport. The silencer was imported from China, according to Mr. Dos Santos.
Through research, it was determined that the importer was from Gatineau and was connected to previous customs seizures of banned weapons.
The 62-year-old man was therefore arrested and released while the investigation and analysis of the seized goods is ongoing. Once the investigation is complete, charges will be filed with the Public Prosecution Service of Canada (PPSC).
Until Wednesday, the CBSA was unable to indicate the Gatineau resident's intentions behind possessing these weapons, particularly whether he is a collector or hunter or whether he intended to offer them for sale.
“All hypotheses are good at this point,” Mr. Dos Santos said.
While the identification and tracing of weapons is underway, some have already been identified as coming from commercial manufacturers, particularly in the United States.