Homemade guns, cocaine seized after border officers raid London, Ont. home
The CBSA says in October 2024, officers at a mail and cargo facility in Mississauga, Ont., discovered a silencer being imported from China. At around the same time, they also seized a 50-round drum magazine coming from the U.S.
Get breaking National news
For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up
By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy
The agency says both packages were addressed to the same location, which triggered an investigation into gun parts being imported into Canada.
Six months later, on May 29, the CBSA says officers raided a home in London where officers seized homemade guns, gun parts, a 3D printer, cocaine, carfentanil, oxycodone and boric acid.
Two men from London, aged 33 and 57, are facing a lengthy list of drug and weapon charges following the arrests.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Global News
21 minutes ago
- Global News
Well-known alleged Vancouver gang leader arrested in the U.S. for wide-scale drug bust
Vancouver has long been known as a hub of criminal drug trafficking and new U.S. court documents are shedding some light on how the trade works. According to an affidavit filed in U.S. District Court, Surrey gangster Opinder Singh Sian was at the centre of a vast conspiracy to import precursor chemicals from China and export narcotics through the port of Los Angeles to Australia. Sian was well known in Vancouver organized crime circles. He was linked to the Brothers Keepers and survived a shooting in 2008, as well as another in 2011. In 2022, he became involved in a plot originating in Ankara, Turkey. According to court documents, a special agent with the DEA's High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Group 48 (HIDTA 48), which investigates large-scale drug trafficking organizations, was brought in to investigate the drug trafficking. Story continues below advertisement Around June 2022, the group received a lead from its Turkey office about an opportunity to insert a confidential source to play the role of an international transportation coordinator in a drug trafficking organization to transport drugs from Southern California to Australia and other destinations. This person then had a phone conversation with a member of the drug trafficking organization in Turkey and then with Sian. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy They arranged four drop-offs of methamphetamine to the confidential source in Southern California for shipment to Australia, including approximately 30 pounds of meth on June 22, 2023, 200 pounds of meth on July 6, 2023, 100 pounds of meth on Aug. 21, 2023 and 200 pounds of meth on Aug. 28, 2023. 0:46 FBI add former Canadian Olympic snowboarder to most wanted list After the pickups, the confidential source led Sian and others to believe that they had their drugs safely stored until they could be shipped from Los Angeles to Australia. Story continues below advertisement However, when the drugs arrived in Australia, officials packaged fake drugs and placed a tracking device inside. The fake drugs were then driven to a stash house and officers with the DEA in Australia then raided the stash house and arrested the receiving couriers. 'After their initial contact, Sian and CS-1 continued communicating and arranged an in-person meeting in Vancouver, Canada, on February 1, 2023,' the court documents read. 'Sian explained that in Canada, he works with Irish organized crime, specifically, the Kinnehan Family, Italian organized crime, and other Canadian organized crime groups. Sian also explained that he obtained drugs through contacts with drug cartels in Mexico and South America. 'Sian again stated that he worked with a known drug kingpin, based out of Turkey.' According to the affidavit, Sian thought he was moving hundreds of kilos of meth, but the DEA intercepted all of it, sending fake products to Sydney, where Australian law enforcement would track it to its destination and make arrests. Court documents also allege Sian was involved in the purchase of precursor chemicals from China and the distribution of those chemicals to Mexican Cartels. According to the affidavit, a Chinese national named Peng Zhou alleged he could get the precursor chemicals directly from China and could send them to LA through his trucking company. Story continues below advertisement Experts said this is a common route and method. 'Vancouver is the centre of gravity for hybrid warfare for transnational organized crime in North America,' Scott McGregor, a former military intelligence operator, told Global News. 'One of my colleagues in D.C. mentioned that it was a cross between Dubai and Miami.' Sian was arrested in Arizona and the affidavit was filed in California. None of the other people named in the document are facing charges at this time.
Global News
an hour ago
- Global News
Metro Vancouver Crime Stoppers seeks extortion tips from victims
Metro Vancouver Crime Stoppers says it's taking the 'unusual step' of accepting tips from extortion victims amid ongoing threats and violence targeting South Asian businesses in Surrey, B.C., and elsewhere. Executive director Linda Annis says they've received more than 70 extortion-related tips in the past 18 months or so, forwarding them all to police. Annis says it's a break from normal practice for the organization to accept tips from crime victims, since those in immediate need of help are usually encouraged to call police directly instead. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy But she says they decided to relax the policy and accept information from targets of extortion, because their information may be valuable to police. 2:32 Surrey extortion suspects released from custody She says Crime Stoppers is urging people with information to come forward if they are scared for their safety and don't want to be identified in any way. Story continues below advertisement RCMP in Surrey said this month they had arrested two suspects in their investigation into extortion targeting the South Asian business community. Last month, B.C. Premier David Eby asked the federal government to declare the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, based in India, a terrorist organization. Police have linked the gang to some of the extortion threats.
Global News
2 hours ago
- Global News
Police to beef up Celebration of Lights security with steel barriers, drones
Police will deploy hundreds of extra officers, drones and concrete and steel barriers when Vancouver stages one of its largest annual public events, starting this weekend. Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to pack the streets and beaches of downtown Vancouver and Kits Point as teams from Quebec, Yukon and Nova Scotia compete in the Celebration of Light fireworks display. The event is typically the Vancouver Police Department's largest annual deployment, but in the wake of the Lapu Lapu Day festival vehicle ramming in April, public safety has become an even greater concern. 2:20 New safety tools officials using at Vancouver summer events 'On the ground, you are going to see a significant and highly visible police presence,' Vancouver police Sgt. Steve Addison said at a briefing by transportation and emergency officials on Tuesday morning. Story continues below advertisement 'We've got you covered on land, on the water and in the air so that you can come down with your friends, with your family, have a good time, have a safe time, and know that we have your back.' Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy The VPD will be deploying 400 additional officers on the nights of the July 19, 23 and 26 events. That deployment will include members of the public safety unit, gang unit, emergency response team, drone pilots as well as mounted officers in the West End. There will be significant road closures downtown and in Kits Point, with police installing 320-kg 'Archer' barriers designed to prevent vehicle incursions. Police will also deploy concrete barriers at all access points to Denman Avenue, which is typically jammed with throngs of people before and after the fireworks performance. 'There are additional barriers that are going to be put out this year, more cement blocks, you know, more containment of the event zone,' Honda Celebration of Light executive producer Paul Runnals told Global News. 'But, but we've been doing heavy vehicle barriers and other mitigation measures for many years, it's not new to us. We're enhancing it this year, based on the learnings from April, but it really is just an extension of what we've been doing for a long time.' 7:36 B.C. releases event safety and security report Private drones will be strictly prohibited on fireworks nights. Story continues below advertisement Police are also reminding people that they will be enforcing laws against public drinking. With road closures in effect, any fireworks attendees are being encouraged to leave their vehicles at home and to walk, bike or take public transit to the show. 'Leading up to the event and following the event the SkyTrain will operate on peak service, which means trains will come very two to three minutes, there will also be extra sailing for the SeaBus, so you can hop on board more frequently, and on the final firworks night, Saturday, July 26, we will have special West Coast Express service form Mission and from Waterfront,' TransLink spokesperson Anita Bathe said. 'To help us support customer flow downtown, we are running special shuttle buses.' The road closures mean some buses downtown will also have to be rerouted, including the Number 5, Number 6 and Number 23, and TransLink is urging all transit commuters to plan some extra time into their trips. You can find a full schedule of Celebration of Light events, including flyovers by the Snowbirds, at the event's website.
