Source: Government of Canada News
October 30, 2024 Mississauga, ON Canada Border Services Agency
The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) works hard to stop prohibited firearms from entering Canada and to protect our communities.
Today, the CBSA announced that an arrest was made for multiple firearms-related offences as part of an investigation by the CBSA Ontario Firearms Smuggling Enforcement Team (OFSET). The OFSET is a group of CBSA criminal investigators, intelligence analysts, and intelligence officers dedicated to investigating firearms smuggling throughout the province.
In August 2024, Border Services Officers working at the International Mail Processing Centre in Mississauga, Ontario, intercepted a parcel that was addressed to a Toronto residence. Officers seized the contents of the parcel, including three prohibited semi-automatic handguns, five cartridge magazines and twelve rounds of ammunition.
In late August, CBSA investigators, assisted by the Toronto Police Emergency Task Force, executed a search warrant at a residence in Toronto.
Nicholas Douglas (34 years old) of Toronto was arrested and charged with:
- 3 counts of Smuggling Prohibited Device under Section 159(1) of the Customs Act pursuant to Section 160;
- 3 counts of knowingly importing prohibited goods contrary to section 103(1)(a) of the Criminal Code;
- 1 count of conspiring with a person or persons unknown to commit an indictable offence of importing a prohibited or restricted firearm contrary to section 465(1)(c) of the Criminal Code; and
- 1 count of knowingly transferring a prohibited firearm contrary to section 99 of the Criminal Code.
If you have information about suspicious cross-border activity, including firearms smuggling, please contact the CBSA Border Watch Line toll-free at 1-888-502-9060, or visit us online.
“The CBSA Ontario Firearms Smuggling Enforcement Team is committed to detecting, investigating and disrupting organized crime. This investigation, arrest, and charges demonstrate our role and strong partnerships to find and seize prohibited firearms.”
– Abeid Morgan, A/Director, Intelligence and Enforcement Operations Division, Southern Ontario Region, Canada Border Services Agency