The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) is pleased to share its key highlights from Saskatchewan for 2014. CBSA officers processed 292,920 travellers on 4,729 flights at the Regina and Saskatoon airports this year. The twelve land border crossings had 626,470 travellers and 396,577 cars and trucks enter Canada in 2014.
In 2014, officers in southern Saskatchewan seized 33 undeclared firearms, 27 of which were seized at North Portal. There were 12 firearms seized in July and August, which is four times more than 2013 and the most in at least five years. Twenty-three weapons were also seized this summer, including 11canisters of pepper spray/tear gas, two cross bows, two stun guns and six switchblades. There were forty-one narcotics seizures in southern Saskatchewan this year, the majority of which was marijuana.
Detector Dog Holly and her handler had a busy year assisting officers in Saskatchewan with 22 enforcement activities including the seizure of 9.5 grams of marijuana and 3.4 grams of hashish from a traveller at the Regina Airport in March. Summertime kept Holly busy at the North Portal border crossing where she assisted officers in locating undeclared firearms, including two loaded pistols, 11 overcapacity magazine clips, one shotgun, as well as parts for an M-16 assault rifle from a Michigan man in July. In August, Detector Dog Holly sniffed out a jar containing six grams of marijuana concealed within a large shop vacuum, as well a small drug pipe hidden in the seatbelt compartment of the vehicle of a man enroute to Alaska. Officers also seized a restricted handgun and prohibited switchblade from the same man. Holly’s largest drug seizure in the last year was 85 grams of marijuana from a U.S. man who was travelling to Alberta to hunt in August. These travellers were all charged separately under the Customs Act and Criminal Code.
Officers in Saskatchewan seized a combined total of $85,600 in undisclosed currency from travellers in 2014. At Regina airport in December, a U.S. man travelling to Saskatchewan for a hunting trip was found to have undeclared currency in the amount of $25,000 concealed on his lower body. The man claimed the money was to pay the outfitter but could not provide an explanation for the undisclosed amount. He was fined $2,500 and the cash was returned. The matter is under investigation. All travellers are required to report to the CBSA if they are in possession of currency and monetary instruments over $10,000.
In October, officers were instrumental in the safe return of a 16-year-old female traveller who attempted to enter Canada at one of the province’s land borders. The youth had been reported missing by her parents and was on her way to meet a 37-year-old acquaintance she had met online. Officers were concerned about her well-being and were able to safely reunite the youth with her parents.
The ports of West Poplar River and Coronach were replaced this year with modular ports, a homegrown prairie initiative to replace small port infrastructure that is now being implemented across the country. The ports of Monchy and Willow Creek are currently under construction, with officers expected to move in the spring of 2015.
Additional Facts
- Officers completed 3,569 permanent resident landings, and issued 1,767 work permits and 141 study permits.
- Officers refused entry to 1,035 foreign nationals for criminality or other reasons in Saskatchewan.
- A total of 294,510 commercial shipments were cleared in Saskatchewan.
- There were eight arrests for impaired driving and 16 others on outstanding warrants.
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Contacts
CBSA Media Relations
1-844-245-2272
prairiemedia@cbsa-asfc.gc.ca
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Photo: Firearms seized at North Portal on July 19, 2014.
