By Dori Modney (@Dori_Modney on Twitter) with files from CBSA

Trying to “Pull a Fast One” at Canada’s Border Continues to End Badly for Travellers

Jul 14, 2016 | 7:48 PM

CALGARY:  With the popularity of the Border Security reality TV series in several countries, it might be expected that travellers would learn that deception isn’t worth the effort.  However, many people are slow learners.

Canada Border Service Agency (CBSA) officers made quite the haul of undeclared firearms at Alberta ports of entry in June.

 A total of 17-weapons were seized in 11 separate incidents at Coutts, Carway and Chief Mountain, making it the biggest seizure in southern Alberta in a single month since July of 2014.

Three of the individuals, two men from Colorado and another from New Mexico, will be in Lethbridge court next Wednesday, July 20th, to answer a string of charges related to trying to cross into Canada with undeclared weapons.

— On June 1st, at Coutts, officers seized a loaded prohibited 9-mm handgun and eight overcapacity magazines. The CBSA charged 28-year old Matthew Dale Winn, of Colorado, on seven counts under the Customs Act and Criminal Code.   

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— On June 11th , at Coutts, officers seized a prohibited .22-calibre handgun and a .22-calibre rifle. The CBSA charged 63-year old Stephen Drake, of New Mexico, on six counts under the Customs Act and Criminal Code. 

— On June 16th, at Coutts, officers seized a rifle and three shotguns. The CBSA charged 56-year old Michael James Gerstner, of Colorado, on seven counts under the Customs Act and Criminal Code.

The seizures didn’t end at mid month. On June 28 at Coutts, officers seized a restricted AR-15 assault rifle and four overcapacity 30-round magazines from the back of a cargo trailer. A man from Indiana forfeited the weapon, paid a $1,500 penalty for failing to declare and was refused entry into Canada.

The other issue that continues to plague Border Services, is Canadians returning home and undervaluing their purchases. A practice that is a very costly mistake.

On June 24th, at Coutts, a B.C. couple declared a semi-truck they were importing at $23,000, but officers found they had actually purchased it for nearly $64,000. As a result, they paid a penalty of more than $16,000 for being untruthful. Had they properly declared, they would have paid $3,200 in goods and services tax.

In southern Alberta, CBSA officers  process an average of 95,421 travellers in 38,679 cars and 10,755 commercial trucks every month.