OTTAWA: Ontario Customs say they’ve taken out a gun smuggling ring operating out of the Cornwall area.
OPP working with the Canada Border Services Agency, the RCMP and Ottawa, Cornwall, Akwesane Mohawk customs seized eight handguns, an AK-47 assault rifle, ammo, cocaine, marijuana and around $100,000 in cash as part of the five-month Project Harden.
OPP Supt. Paul Beesley, with the Organized Crime Enforcement Bureau, said although this wasn’t the biggest bust, it was fruitful.
“We’ve seen much larger gun trafficking rings, if you like, but with the proximity to Ottawa and the gun issues Ottawa has been experiencing the last year, we believe this particular ring of gun traffickers has now been dismantled. It just makes it much harder for criminals on the ground, gangs to get guns and hopefully that will stem some of the tide from some of the shootings we’ve seen in the city.”
Officials say most of the guns were smuggled in from the United States. In Ottawa, it’s estimated that 60 per cent of the guns used in crimes in Ottawa are trafficked from the U.S.A.
“That’s why it’s very important that projects of this nature continue,” said Acting Supt. Joan McKenna with the Ottawa officials. “Just the information sharing with the OPP, with the customs, with the RCMP, with Cornwall, is vital to putting these people who are responsible for trafficking in firearms, trafficking in narcotics off the streets.”
