NIAGARA: The month of March was a busy one for the Canadian Border Services Agency whose enforcement actions in Niagara included the seizure of alcohol, drugs and guns.
CBSA officers at the Peace Bridge in Fort Erie found 33 undeclared bottles of various spirits and wine in a large suitcase in the trunk of a vehicle referred for a secondary examination. On March 7, two Mississauga residents were returning from a day shopping trip in Buffalo, driving the vehicle in question. The individuals were arrested and charged under the Customs Act with smuggling and the alcohol was seized with no terms of release.
On that same day at the Queenston Bridge, a male New York resident who was trying to enter Canada was referred for a secondary examination. He was found to be in possession of 12.4 grams of suspected cocaine. He was arrested under the Customs Act for smuggling suspected narcotics into Canada and the Niagara Regional Police attended the scene, laying charges under the Criminal Code.
On March 24, a New York man attempting to enter Canada at the Rainbow Bridge in Niagara Falls was referred for secondary examination where a loaded handgun was found in his pocket and a second loaded handgun was found under the car seat. He was arrested and charged under the Customs Act with false statements and willfully evading compliance. The NRP also attended and charged the man under the Criminal Code.
Throughout the month of March, CBSA officers in the southern Ontario region — which also includes the Blue Water Bridge in Sarnia, as well as the Ambassador Bridge and Windsor Tunnel in Windsor — processed 1,872,355 travellers and 881,604 cars; refused entry to 1264 foreign nationals, including 556 for criminality; removed 56 foreign nationals; made 110 drug seizures; seized 10 firearms; made nine currency seizures; and made one child pornography seizure.
