Albertan pleads guilty to illegally trying to buy dozens of guns in the U.S.

A Canadian man pleaded guilty in New Hampshire on Tuesday to making false statements related to buying guns in the state.

Court documents show Nana Baffoe, 63, was arrested in May 26 last year after trying to buy 100 Taurus 9 mm handguns from a licensed dealer in Nashua, N.H..

The dealer, who alerted authorities, said Baffoe produced an American passport and an expired New Hampshire driver’s licence when he asked if he was a state resident, an affidavit from federal agent John Cook says.

Baffoe also gave a phone number with an Alberta area code when the dealer asked him for contact information, Cook said.

Agents put Baffoe under surveillance, court documents say, but he never showed up at the address he gave the dealer. In fact, he was seen driving and sleeping in a car with an Alberta licence plate, the documents state.

The sale never went through. When Baffoe returned with a $30,500 cheque to buy the weapons, the dealer told him the guns would arrive within a week.

Baffoe also inquired about purchasing a machine to make ammunition, the agent said.

The Canadian had earlier bought two Ruger .45-calibre pistols from a licensed dealer in Hudson, N.H., filling out a form stating he lived in the nearby city of Manchester.

Under U.S. law, dealers can only sell guns to residents of their own states.

That dealer told investigators Baffoe returned a few months later and discussed smuggling guns to Ghana. But the dealer said he refused to sell him any more guns, according to an agreed statement of facts.

Federal agents obtained records from the New Hampshire Department of Motor Vehicles that showed Baffoe supplied them with a lease agreement to prove he was living in Manchester. Cook said he contacted the landlord, who stated he had never rented an apartment to Baffoe.

Baffoe was arrested after leaving a Manchester shooting range. He admitted to agents he never resided in the U.S. and that he had been living in Canada for more than two years. He also said he intended to sell the firearms for a profit, Cook’s affidavit states.

Information about where Baffoe was from in Alberta was not made available.

Baffoe is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 19.