The Canada Border Services Agency announced on 24 September 2026 that its Ontario Firearms Smuggling Enforcement Team (OFSET) has arrested a 60-year-old Essex County resident and seized 53 prohibited or restricted weapons, including unregistered sub-machine guns and over-capacity magazines. The investigation began after CBSA officers intercepted undeclared firearm parts at Windsor’s Ambassador Bridge in May. Working with the RCMP and Ontario Provincial Police, investigators executed search warrants in July and uncovered a cache indicative of a sophisticated cross-border parts-smuggling operation designed to assemble fully automatic firearms. The arrest comes as Ottawa rolls out a C$1.3 billion multi-year Border Plan to modernise screening infrastructure and increase intelligence capacity at land, air and marine ports of entry. Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree said the case demonstrates how new investments in data analytics and joint-force units are “disrupting criminal supply chains before they endanger Canadian communities.” From a global-mobility perspective, heightened enforcement may translate into longer secondary inspections for commercial shipments and employee personal effects, particularly along the busy Windsor-Detroit corridor. Companies importing equipment should ensure customs classifications are watertight and maintain detailed audit trails to avoid inadvertent delays. CBSA encourages the public and industry stakeholders to report suspicious activity via its Border Watch Line, signalling an ongoing shift toward collaborative border-security models that rely on real-time intelligence sharing between government and the private sector.
Source: Canada Border Services Agency
