In 1993, according to a recent government report, half the handguns re~ covered from crime scenes by to Canadian police agencies were unregistered and therefore probably smuggled,

“There has been a tremendous change in Canada as a target for illegal weapons,” said Gary Thomas, special agent in charge of international enforcement at the Bureau of Alcohol, to back and Firearms (ATF) in Washington, “Perhaps because Canada has strengthened its gun control measures. You have the supply in one area, the demand in another. It’s a natural thing.”

“What we have is tantamount to a prohibition of sorts,” said John Thcompson, executive director of the ‘MacKenzie Institute, a think tank that produced a report on gun smuggling in May. “Prohibitions are known to backfire, The more they attempt to control firearms, the less control Vhey” Il have.” “Traffickers move their wares across the longest no militarized border in the world. An average of 142,000 cars enter Canada from the United States every day, and custom sagent sat major border posts often face long lines of autos and heavy pressure to wave most through with little questioning. At rural border points, there often is less scrutiny.

Guns have been found in wheel wells, false undercarriages and door panels, behind the glove compartment, inside upholstery and underneath the engine block. Thomas of the ATF said gun smugglers travel an “I95 corridor,” purchasing weapons in Georgia, Florida and, until it recently tightened gun laws, Virginia. The guns are run up to Toronto via Buffalo or to Montreal, usually through Mohawk Indian reserves that straddle the border.

The legislation before Parliament would extend sentences for trafficking in illegal weapons, though bealse the bill has other controversial elements—such as universal registration—its outlook in the Canadian Senate is uncertain. Federal and provincial governments here combat gun smuggling with a variety of task forces and enforcement efforts, including new technology at border crossings that reads the license number of every entering car and’ runs it through a database for previous violations.

But the profit potential for smuggling is high. Cheap handguns that go for $50 in the United States can sell for $250 in Canada. A few types of guns sell for 10 times their American price.

 

Article extracted from this publication >>  October 27, 1995