California man gets 27 months in Canadian prison for attempting to smuggle 'ghost gun' over the border

California man Jerry Armas pleaded guilty to two charges after border officers caught him with a ghost gun and 118 rounds of ammunition last year. (CBSA Pacific Region)

A California man has been sentenced to 27 months in prison for attempting to smuggle a ghost gun across the Canadian border last year, authorities announced Friday.

U.S. citizen Jerry Armas pleaded guilty in March to possession of a prohibited firearm with ammunition and smuggling a firearm, the Canada Border Services Agency Pacific Region said in a news release.

The charges stemmed from Armas's arrest at the Douglas port of entry – better known as the Peace Arch border crossing – in Surrey in March 2023, the CBSA said.

According to the agency, Armas attempted to cross the border without a declaration. CBSA officers searched his vehicle and found 18.1 grams of cocaine and "a privately made, un-serialized nine-millimetre ghost gun," plus 118 rounds of ammunition.

Armas's sentence includes 25 months for possession of the weapon and two months for the smuggling offence, the CBSA said, adding that he was also given a lifetime firearms prohibition.

"Stopping prohibited firearms from coming into Canada is part of CBSA’s commitment to protect our communities," said Nina Patel, regional director general for the CBSA Pacific Region, in the release.

"This conviction and sentence demonstrate the important work being done at our borders and the consequences individuals face for smuggling."

During the first 10 months of 2023, officers working in the CBSA Pacific Region seized 13,400 weapons, which was more than half of all weapons seized by the national agency during the period.