Possession of prohibited weapons and an arrest warrant were among details that prevented a variety of travellers from entering Canada through the local ports recently.
Canada Border Services Agency officials released the highlights last month, outlining incidents that occurred in October.
Most significant was the Oct. 16 shooting of Border Services Officer Lori Bowcock. Bowcock was shot in the neck by a man who arrived at the Douglas crossing, shot her and then turned his weapon on himself.
Bowcock is “continuing to improve,” the release states.
The severity of other incidents highlighted pales in comparison.
On Oct. 26, a mother and her three young children were intercepted at the Pacific Highway crossing, when a U.S. guard noticed a warrant for the Canadian woman’s arrest.
The family was on a southbound Greyhound bus at the time. Guards escorted them back to Canada, where the woman was taken into custody by Surrey RCMP and the children released to a family friend.
A woman who tried to dodge Canada’s reporting requirements was arrested at the same border on Oct. 23, when guards intercepted her vehicle. On examination, she presented ID that did not resemble her, and gave conflicting statements regarding ownership of the vehicle she was driving, spokesperson Faith St. John notes.
A records check revealed the traveller had “recent criminality” in Washington State, including possession of methamphetamines.
Returned to the U.S., she was arrested by Customs and Border Protection officers.
A total of 17 firearms and other weapons were seized in the Pacific Highway District in October, including an unloaded .357 Magnum, a 9mm pistol and two switchblades.
The latter were seized along with a centrifugal knife and four prohibited over-capacity magazines on Oct. 28, from a U.S. couple travelling to Victoria through the Douglas border.
The .357 was found on the back seat of a northbound truck on Oct. 6. Officers also found two prohibited firearm magazines in a toolbox.
The traveller, a U.S. resident, told officers that he forgot the gun was in his truck.
The pistol and three high-capacity magazines were seized Oct. 24 at the Pacific Highway port, after a commercial truck driver was referred for examination. The driver was arrested, the truck and weapon were seized and charges were laid under the Customs Act.
Released on bail, the driver returned to the U.S., St. John notes.
Impaired drivers were also stopped in their tracks at the local borders in October.
Of 23 arrests logged throughout the district, 12 were made at Pacific Highway and eight at the Douglas border.
