The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) has released its 2021 highlights from its Prairie Region, which includes some interesting stories that happened in Saskatchewan.
American traveller fined for undeclared firearms
The first highlight took place in February at the Northgate, Sask., port of entry, which is about 265 kilometres southeast of Regina at the Saskatchewan-North Dakota border.
The CBSA said a traveller from the U.S. was looking to enter Canada as a tourist despite there being COVID-19 restrictions in place.
During the exchange, border security officers arrested the individual after they located two undeclared handguns in a duffle bag.
However, what really surprised CBSA officers was when their database revealed the traveller had a previous conviction, which made the person further ineligible to enter the country.
The CBSA fined the individual for failing to declare the firearms. The traveller returned to the U.S. without the guns.
Multiple weapons, ammo result in large fine
This next incident occurred in August at the North Portal, Sask., port of entry, located approximately 242 kilometres southeast of Regina.
CBSA officers ran a routine examination of an American traveller who was on their way to Alaska.
Officers found four handguns, two prohibited assault-style rifles, three non-restricted long guns and 40 prohibited magazines in the person’s truck.
The traveller was arrested and returned to the U.S. with only the non-restricted guns. However, before returning to the U.S., the individual was issued $7,000 in penalties.
Prohibited weapons discovered in semi-trailer
Another incident at North Portal happened in October when CBSA officers conducted an offload examination of a semi-truck trailer, according to the CBSA highlights.
The inspection uncovered 220 knives and 22 brass knuckles, which are prohibited in Canada.
Officers seized the undeclared weapons with no terms of release.
Hold your horses
In April, officers at North Portal were processing a Canadian resident who was returning from the U.S. with a horse.
The CBSA said the individual was “not truthful about the horse’s origins, then showed a false receipt with a much lower value than was paid.”
The Canadian traveller was hit with $17,350 in penalties due to their actions.
The CBSA added that the person would have only paid approximately $800 in GST if they had provided a truthful declaration from the beginning.