Year in Review 2024 for the Quebec Region: CBSA seizes 1,191 firearms and weapons and makes 3,672 illegal drug seizures

MONTRÉAL, Dec. 9, 2024 /CNW/ - Today, we are proud to report on the operational and enforcement activities of the Canada Border Services Agency in the Quebec Region, from January 1 to October 31, 2024.

The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) is Canada's first line of defence at 1,200 ports of entry across the country. Day in and day out, approximately 8,500 frontline employees play a crucial role protecting our communities by preventing illegal goods and inadmissible people from entering Canada and by securing North America as a whole.

Across the country, hundreds of CBSA criminal investigators, inland immigration investigators, hearings officers and intelligence officers work to support and enforce compliance with Canada's border laws and take action against those in violation. Abroad, approximately 60 CBSA employees in 35 countries help manage the border internationally. And, by the end of 2024, we will have welcomed over 500 new officer trainees and 18 new detector dog teams who join the ranks of our dedicated employees helping keep our border safe.

Partnership and information-sharing are vital to border security because organized crime is an international problem, with networks operating across many countries. CBSA and other law enforcement agencies operate in a global context to successfully curb crime and keep borders safe. Together, we stop dangerous people, firearms, weapons and drugs from entering and hurting our communities, while ensuring the flow of millions of travellers and billions of dollars in international trade.

The CBSA's Quebec Region supports over 87 points of service, six railway stations, 25 airports and an international mail processing center. It controls ships along 2,500 km of coastline and shares 813 km of border with the United States, the longest common border in Canada.

Protecting Canadians and keeping communities safe

CSBA officers seized 1,191 firearms, weapons, weapons parts and prohibited devices, including the following:   

• One loaded firearm and 25 rounds of ammunition at Saint-Armand on April 26.
• Two firearms and two high-capacity magazines at Armstrong on June 23.
• One firearm, five pepper spray cans, two tasers and one set of brass knuckles at Armstrong on July 30.
• One firearm and two prohibited magazines at Stanstead on August 16.
• One prohibited handgun, two 15-round capacity magazines, 30 rounds of ammunition and one switchblade at Woburn on October 3.

There were 3,672 seizures of illegal drugs and 1,928 seizures of cannabis made in the region during the period in question, including the following:   

• 309.52 kg of cannabis at the Montréal Marine and Rail Services (MRS) on January 11.
• 46.4 kg of Catha Edulis at Montréal-Trudeau Airport, Travellers Sector, on March 9.
• 1,065 MDMA tablets at Montréal-Trudeau Airport, Commercial Sector, on April 11.
• 5.5 kg of liquid cocaine at Montréal-Trudeau Airport, Travellers Sector, on April 20.
• 302.59 kg of hashish at MRS on June 18.
• 12.18 kg of ketamine at the Léo-Blanchette Mail Processing Centre (MPC) on August 9.
• 9.83 kg of methamphetamine at the MPC between August 30 and September 4.
• 22 kg of opium and 77 kg of Doda at Mirabel Airport on August 30.
• 13.6 g of opium at Jean-Lesage Airport on September 29.

Officers also made 489 currency seizures for a total of $8,584,941.66. These included the seizure of $169,693 at Montréal-Trudeau Airport on February 22, and the seizure of US$128,370 in suspected proceeds of crime at the Hemmingford border crossing on October 4.

From January 1 to October 31, 2024, 1,213 stolen vehicles were intercepted in Quebec, an increase of 300 over the same period last year.

In addition, 864 administrative monetary penalties were imposed in the agriculture and agri-food sector.

Further, over the past year, the CBSA established a partnership with Correctional Service Canada for the temporary use of the Regional Reception Centre located in Sainte-Anne-des-Plaines, Quebec, to house a small number of high-risk immigration detainees. 

Additional enforcement examples:

• On February 26, 2024, Quebec's Weapon Smuggling Enforcement Integrated Team (WSEIT) executed a search warrant with assistance from the Gatineau Police Service at a man's residence in Gatineau, resulting in the seizure of 61 firearms, 13 prohibited weapons, 22 air guns, 12 prohibited ammunition devices, and several documents and electronic devices of interest. A news release on this subject was issued on February 28.
• On October 28, 2024, following an investigation by the CBSA Criminal Investigations Section in Quebec, charges were laid against James J. Robb for assisting a family of five people in entering Canada illegally via Lake Wallace (by rowboat) on October 19. On November 5, Mr. Robb was sentenced to 120 days' imprisonment at the Sherbrooke courthouse for violating several sections of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.

Supporting the economy

This year, in the Quebec Region, we:

• Processed 432,184 commercial truck passages;
• Cleared 1,747,948 commercial shipments through customs;
• Seized 527 luxury goods (valued at $3,033,234), including the seizure of a luxury watch worth $9,164 at the Lacolle Route 221 border crossing on May 31;
• Completed 110 tobacco seizures, including 38 kg of shisha tobacco at Montréal-Trudeau airport, Passenger Sector, on July 26.

In addition, the CBSA Trade Operations Division completed 240 trade verifications, resulting in the recovery of nearly $17 million in duties, taxes, interest and penalties. Examples include the following:

• On June 21, a $1,060,079 adjustment was imposed on a cleaning appliances importer who had incorrectly declared his goods as steam jet machines and steamers, which are free of customs duties (0%), when in fact they were surface steam cleaners for household use with a customs duty rate of 6.5%.
• On July 25, a clothing and footwear importer was ordered to pay $1,876,758 to the CBSA for failing to declare previous sales that it imported under the Duties Relief Program.

Fall of 2024 also marks the completion of the Postal Operations Modernization Initiative at the Léo Blanchette International Mail Processing Centre (MPS), which now boasts new X-ray equipment, conveyors, systems and facilities. This initiative was launched in 2010 as a partnership between the CBSA and the Canada Post Corporation.

Welcoming travellers into Canada

The Quebec Region welcomed 12,418,433 international travellers, including 5,472,777 by land, 6,841,881 by air, 88,457 by marine arrival and 15,318 by rail. 

To expedite their border crossings, 1,005 463 travellers have used the Advance Declaration at Montréal-Trudeau and Jean-Lesage international airports. This marks a 19.7% increase over last year. 

During this period, 27,894 refugee protection claims were processed, including 25,539 under the One–Step Intake Project. This procedure, which was tested in Quebec in 2022 and officially implemented this year, has considerably sped up the processing of refugee protection claims while maintaining the integrity of the process.

In the spring of 2024, six charter flights from Haiti landed at Montréal-Trudeau Airport carrying 561 repatriated Canadians.

Collaborating with Indigenous communities

The CBSA has engaged in discussions with Indigenous communities regarding the upcoming reconstruction of the Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle border crossing, including the Mohawk communities of Kahnawake, Kanesatake and Akwesasne, the Algonquin Nation of Kitigan Zibi, and the Grand Council of the Waban-Aki Nation.

Quotes

"Over the past year and beyond, the Canada Border Services Agency has played a pivotal role in combatting criminal activity by interdicting guns and illegal drugs at our borders. I would like to thank all employees, from every corner of the Agency, for their dedication in safeguarding the health and safety of our communities, and in maintaining the integrity of the border we share with our most important ally and trading partner, the United States."
–  The Honourable Dominic LeBlanc, Minister of Public Safety, Democratic Institutions and Intergovernmental Affairs

"As we wrap up 2024, I want to express my deep gratitude to all CBSA employees in the Quebec Region. Through their commitment and vigilance, we have overcome major challenges while ensuring the security and fluidity of our borders, as evidence by this review."
–  Eric Lapierre, Regional Director General, Quebec Region, Canada Border Services Agency

Associated links

• 2024 Year in review: CBSA protecting Canadians and supporting our economy
• 2024 Year in review: Accomplishments by the numbers
• Canada Border Services Agency enforcement action statistics

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SOURCE Canada Border Services Agency

Contacts: For more information or to schedule an interview with a CBSA representative, please contact: Media Relations, Canada Border Services Agency, [email protected], 1-877-761-5945