Officers seize drugs, guns, child porn

FORT ERIE, ONT. (WIVB) - Border service officers in Ontario are announce recent seizures at three separate border crossings.

The Canada Border Services Agency says they seized four firearms, magazines and ammunition from a Florida resident’s vehicle at the Ambassador Bridge, after a man declared just one of them. The incident happened on August 6th, and the man was charged under the Customs Act with making false statements, possession of illegal or prohibited goods and smuggling.

Three days earlier at the same bridge, a man and his vehicle were examined after he said he made a wrong turn and went to Canada by mistake. Inside the vehicle, officers say they found a computer with suspected child pornography on it. The officers removed two laptops, two external hard drives, two cell phones, DVDs and CDs from the vehicle. The man was charged under the Customs Act with possession of illegal or prohibited goods and smuggling.

Also on August 3rd, border service officers at the Peace Bridge say they discovered drugs. Officers examined a courier shipment declared as bed sheets, that allegedly had 13 kilograms of marijuana and one kilogram of hashish wrapped in plastic. No charges have been made.

Officers at the Blue Water Bridge had three seizures on August 3rd. Officers say four people were arrested after they found 14 grams of marijuana and 66 ecstasy pills. The were charged under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. Officers also found 1.63 kilograms of Khat in a truck’s cab, the driver and passenger were also charged under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. Next, officers discovered a firearm in a woman’s vehicle. She was charged under the Customs Act.

At the same bridge about a week before, officers say they discovered 3,000 Salbutamol, a regulated narcotic, in a Ontario resident’s vehicle. The resident was arrested and charged under the Food and Drug Regulations.

“These seizures clearly demonstrate that our border services officers are committed to border protection and tackling crime,” said Rick Comerford in a release, Regional Director General, Southern Ontario Region. “Border services officers in the Southern Ontario Region have prevented weapons, drugs and child pornography from reaching the streets of our communities with these seizures and continue to make every effort to keep Canadians safe.”