Calgary

Canadian border agents nabbed Americans trying to get guns into Canada, CBSA says

Canadian border agents have stopped at least three U.S. citizens from entering Alberta with undeclared firearms since the end of February, according to a report from the Canada Border Services Agency.

At least 3 undeclared handguns seized at Coutts crossing since late February

This handgun was among the undeclared weapons confiscated by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) last month at the Coutts crossing in southern Alberta. (CBSA)

Canadian border agents have stopped at least three U.S. citizens from entering Alberta with undeclared firearms since the end of February, according to a report from the Canada Border Services Agency. 

Officers seized an illegal .380-calibre pistol and 24 prohibited magazines from a traveller at the Coutts, Alta., border crossing on Feb. 29, the CBSA said in a release.

A 47-year-old woman from Georgia was charged with 13 offences under the Customs Act and the Criminal Code. She is set to appear in Lethbridge provincial court on April 20.

The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) says these ammunition magazines were among the items seized in March by border guards at the Coutts crossing in southern Alberta. (CBSA)

On March 19, officers caught a Florida man — who said he was going to Alaska — with an undeclared .25-calibre handgun and ammunition stashed in his truck.

"They located the firearm in a backpack in the back seat of his pickup truck and found the magazine concealed under a floor mat," the release said. 

He was arrested but later allowed to continue into Canada without the gun after he paid a $1,000 fine for failing to declare it.

A 43-year-old Utah man pleaded guilty on March 16 to breaching the Customs Act by failing to declare a prohibited .32-calibre handgun he brought across the border at Coutts on Feb. 2, the CBSA says.

He was fined $1,500 and had to forfeit the weapon.

Agents also stopped a man twice in one day from entering Alberta at two remote border crossings east of Coutts.

He was seeking to work in Canada but had a previous conviction for possessing child pornography.

After first trying to get into Canada at Wild Horse, "he attempted to enter at the remote Aden border crossing later that same day and was turned away again," the release said

And on March 27, officers prevented a U.S. woman convicted of conspiracy to distribute heroin from entering Canada.