Officers at the local border crossings were busy in March, dealing with an assortment of activities and individuals.
At North Portal, Canada Border Service Agency officers processed 21,750 travellers in 5,620 cars and 10,398 commercial trucks throughout March.
They also issued 47 work permits and three study permits and processed 252 new immigrants. They also made 23 seizures and issued total penalties of almost $5,000 for undeclared goods and smuggling contraband.
Officers also denied entry to 39 people who reported to the North Portal crossing including a 51-year-old Oklahoma truck driver who on March 4 was coming to Canada to deliver a load. Background checks revealed a litany of criminal activity including assault, driving under the influence (DUI), as well as possession of narcotics and conspiracy to traffic 138 pounds of marijuana. He was refused entry to Canada and returned to the United States.
One day later, a Nova Scotia commercial driver was hauling goods to British Columbia. The man told CBSA officers he had been out of the country for two days and had five packs of cigarettes. During a secondary examination, officers uncovered four undeclared cartons of cigarettes. They seized the undeclared tobacco with no terms of release and issued the man a $160 penalty before admitting him into Canada.
On March 8, an Arkansas man was delivering a commercial trailer for a buyer in Alberta. Upon verifying the paperwork and examining the contents of the trailer, officers discovered $2,575 in tools that were not declared. The man told officers he was bringing tools for the buyer and admitted he did not include them in his declaration. Officers issued him a penalty of about $1,030. If the man had made an accurate declaration, he would have paid about $125 in GST.
That same day, a 57-year-old truck driver was refused entry and returned to the U.S. after background checks revealed a criminal record that included convictions for assault with a weapon, burglary, domestic violence and assault with a deadly weapon.
On March 12, a 47-year-old Wisconsin man was refused entry due to previous convictions for possession of THC and possession of cocaine.
An Arkansas commercial driver was hauling goods to Alaska March 21when CBSA officers conducted a background check and determined the man was criminally inadmissible for producing counterfeit money.
While searching the cab of his truck, officers uncovered a loaded .410-calibre handgun in a black bag. They arrested the man and seized the weapon with no terms of release. Officers released the man after he had paid a $1,000 penalty and returned him to the United States.
Also on March 21, a Wisconsin commercial driver was entering Canada for the first time and had not completed the required paperwork for the commercial goods. CBSA officers conducted a secondary examination of his vehicle and uncovered various suspected steroids in a storage compartment. They seized 136 pills with no terms of release, and issued the driver an $875 penalty before returning him to the United States.
Officers refused entry on March 23 to a 37-year-old truck driver with previous charges for sexual contact with a minor in California. As the man could not prove that the charges had been dropped, he was refused entry until he could substantiate his claim.
On March 24, a Saskatchewan commercial driver declared about $225 in purchases and about 5.5 litres of alcohol. During a secondary examination, CBSA officers uncovered 15.75 litres of undeclared vodka and four litres of undeclared beer. Officers seized all the undeclared alcohol with no terms of release.
On March 30, a Canadian resident failed to declare a 1994 minivan he purchased for $670 in Minnesota. He told officers his vehicle broke down while in the U.S. and borrowed a vehicle instead of renting one. He told officers he gave the owner $600 for the vehicle and the owner would give him the money back when he brought the car back to the U.S. in two weeks. Officers questioned the man's credibility, and he eventually admitted that he did purchase the vehicle. He was issued a $294 penalty. If he had declared the vehicle, he would have paid about $40 in GST.
The March report also included information about the province's two international airports. From January through March 2014, there were 59,960 international travellers at Regina International Airport, and 62,140 international travellers at Saskatoon John G. Diefenbaker International Airport. CBSA officers cleared 3,065 commercial releases in Regina and 3,460 commercial releases in Saskatoon.
Officers processed a total of 11 landings, issued 185 work permits and 14 study permits. There were also 15 people refused entry, including eight for criminality.
Included among the highlights were three narcotics seizures in the first quarter of 2014; the largest of which included 9.5 grams of marijuana and 3.4 grams of hashish from a male traveller returning from Jamaica on March 9.
There were nine seizures involving undeclared and undervalued clothing. Among the most significant were:
On January 27, officers seized a designer purse valued at almost $3,500 when the traveller failed to declare it. She was issued a penalty of $1,200.
On January 8, a woman returning from the United States did not properly declare two designer purses and some earrings. The total value was $2,000. She paid more than $600 in penalties.
On January 28, a man returning to Saskatoon from Las Vegas failed to declare multiple clothing items including a designer wallet valued at $400, shoes valued at $800 and two shirts valued at over $200. In total, he was issued a $600 penalty for not declaring more than $1,800 in goods.
On February 14, a woman returning to Saskatoon failed to declare a $4,000 designer purse that she had concealed with her dirty laundry. She was issued a $1,660 penalty.
