The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) tracked down a silencer imported into the country and managed to get their hands on nearly a hundred weapons and ammunition stored at a residence in Gatineau, Outtawai.
In Quebec, this is the largest seizure made by border services in recent years, Tony Dos Santos, deputy director of criminal investigations for the CBSA's Quebec region, confirmed at a press conference.
A search was conducted on Feb. 6 at a property in the Versand district, where Border Service agents accompanied the City of Gatineau Police Department.
At the site, they found no fewer than 61 firearms, 13 prohibited weapons, 22 air guns, six silencers and six high-capacity magazines and ammunition.
Collector or Importer?
Officers were en route to the residence after intercepting a silencer on a package caught in the business operations of Toronto Pearson Airport. Mr. said that the silencer was imported from China. Dos Santos said.
Through research it was possible to identify the importer as being from Godino and he was linked to previous customs seizures for prohibited weapons.
A 62-year-old man was arrested and released pending investigation and analysis of the seized items. Charges will be laid by the Public Prosecution Service of Canada (PPSC) at the conclusion of the investigation.
As of Wednesday, the CBSA was unable to determine the Gatineau resident's motives behind possessing these weapons, especially if he was a collector, hunter or if he intended to put them up for sale.
“All hypotheses are good at this point,” Mr. Dos Santos said.
While identification of the weapons is also underway, some of them have already been identified as coming from commercial manufacturers, particularly from the United States.
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