British Columbia

B.C. man arrested again for firearms trafficking after border officials intercept packages

A B.C. man is back in custody for repeated firearms trafficking, after previously being allowed out on parole.

Bradley Michael Friesen previously served time for selling gun parts and silencers online

Canada Border Services Agency tipped off investigators about packages they had seized containing illegal items. (CBC)

A B.C. man is back in custody for firearms trafficking, shortly after having been freed on parole following a similar offence. 

Bradley Michael Friesen, 40, was arrested last Thursday and his home in Hope, B.C., was searched after investigators were tipped off by the Canada Border Services Agency, who had intercepted and seized three packages being sent to him. 

Each of the packages contained illegal firearms-related items.

This is the second time in five years that Friesen has been arrested by the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit of B.C. (CFSEU-BC), the province's anti-gang agency.

Sgt. Brenda Winpenny, with CFSEU-BC, said Friesen's arrest has "put a dangerous offender back behind bars" and taken potentially lethal devices off the streets. 

Friesen already had a lifetime ban on firearms, prohibited ammunition and other items from a conviction in 2001. 

An investigation in 2014 found he had been selling silencers and gun parts that convert Glock pistols into fully automatic weapons online. He served five years of a 10-year sentence for those charges, with his parole set to expire in 2023. 

"Bradley Friesen is a well known offender who is alleged to have showed a complete disregard for the safety of the public," said Winpenny in a statement. 

No new charges have been laid against Friesen so far as the investigation is still underway.