CBSA investigating smuggling offences related to weapons used in Nova Scotia shooting

The Canada Border Services Agency is investigating potential smuggling offences related to how weapons used in the Nova Scotia shooting may have entered Canada from the United States.

In newly-released court documents, Crown prosecutors say the CBSA is investigating potential offences under the Customs Act, specifically related to the smuggling of several firearms the gunman may have used in the April mass shootings that left 22 dead.

The documents outline the Crown lawyers’ arguments for redacting Information to Obtain (ITO) documents that have previously been made public related to the ongoing investigation into the killings.

The legal brief released Friday afternoon refers to an affidavit from a CBSA investigator who argued that if certain information is released it could compromise ongoing investigations into the murders.

“If the involved parties become aware, they could destroy evidence, influence potential witness, and jeopardize investigative avenues, some of which have yet to be identified,” the investigator is quoted as saying.

7:59 How the Nova Scotia mass shooting unfolded: 13 hours. 22 dead. 16 crime scenes.

The information contained in the documents has not yet been admitted into evidence and accepted by the court.​

The RCMP have previously said that three of the four semi-automatic weapons used by the gunman are believed to have come from the United States. One was obtained illegally in Canada “through the estate of a deceased associate.”

The RCMP and other agencies have still refused to reveal the brand or the calibre of the weapons — two handguns and two rifles — used during the rampage on April 18 and 19 citing the ongoing investigation.

Wortman, 51, wore an RCMP uniform and drove a replica RCMP cruiser during his rampage that started on the evening of April 18 with the assault and confinement of his common-law spouse.

Investigators have said the gunman didn’t have a licence for the weapons and was killed by RCMP on April 19 outside a gas station in Enfield, N.S.