Sarnia border officers capturing more illegal drugs and guns

Protecting Canada’s borders Canada's public safety minister visits the Blue Water Bridge to discuss gun and drug smuggling. CTV London's Sean Irvine explains.

Border seizures of certain illegal drugs at the Sarnia, Ont. Blue Water Bridge are trending upward.

Since 2019, the amount of cocaine seized at the crossing has more than tripled.

The numbers were shared as Canada’s Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino toured

Canadian Border Service Agency (CBSA) facilities at the bridge.

Inside a training area, Mendicino was shown dozens of firearms seized from U.S. vehicles arriving in Canada. They included a handgun only discovered inside a transport truck Monday night.

“This is the product of a lot of professionalism,” Mendicino told CBSA Blue Water Bridge Acting Director Rob Wilson.

Wilson also praised his officers while acknowledging his facility’s share of $450-million in Canada-wide CBSA federal government funding.

The money, allocated over the past two-and-half-years, has provided the Blue Water crossing with new equipment.

Wilson concurs the new equipment has aided his team in seizing more than 600 kg of cocaine and a table full of firearms.

Among the new tools officers have at the crossing are hand-held devices capable of scanning packages and bags for weapons.

It is a tool CBSA officer Sally Craggs welcomes. “We’ve actually only had this about two and half years. It’s a great new piece of equipment,” she said.

They also have larger stationary scanners and a team of two drug-sniffing dogs.

While the influx of funding helps, a canine handler admits another dog is needed.

“If we had three canine units, we’d actually be able to provide 24/7 coverage with standby,” he told CTV News.

Wilson admitted an additional canine unit would help, but for now, he wants more training to contain new methods used by smugglers.

“Additional staffing is always welcome, but right now just additional training to keep up with the trends,” he said.

“That includes the additional capacity to interdict the new types of technology that organized crime are deploying, like drones,” added Mendicino.

In May, a drone carrying 11 guns was found in St. Clair Township along the Canada-U.S. Border.