Nearly 9,500 weapons, drug seizures made at Pearson Airport and other locations in Mississauga, Ontario

A single seizure late last year of numerous guns, knives and other weapons in addition to drugs, cash and additional items was just one of the major operations undertaken by Canadian border services officers working out of Mississauga, numbers released this week show.

Canada Border Services Agency officials working in the Greater Toronto Area Region said in a news release issued Wednesday that “significant seizure” took many weapons and drugs off the streets and was the culmination of months of work by officers.

In total between Jan. 1 and Oct. 31, 2023, agency officers made 9,358 seizures of suspected narcotics, weapons and other contraband at Pearson Airport in Mississauga, Canada Post’s International Mail Processing Centre (Dixie Road, Mississauga) and cargo facilities in the area, according to the CBSA report unveiled this week.

The numbers are based on seizures made in 2023 between the first of January and end of October and the GTA-area figures represent 43 per cent “of all seizure enforcement actions completed by the CBSA across the country,” the agency said.

Agency officials said the confiscation of illegal drugs is a top priority for officers who are constantly on the lookout for suspicious packages at Pearson and other facilities in Mississauga and the GTA.

Their efforts, the agency added, “continue to thwart the smuggling attempts of criminal organizations.”

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Of the nearly 10,000 seizures last year (Jan. 1 to Oct. 31), more than 3,000 turned up various types of illegal drugs, officials noted.

The report also noted 49 firearms, 842 replica firearms, 63 firearm parts and more than 6,200 prohibited weapons were seized at Pearson and other Mississauga/GTA locations during the identified 2023 time period.

Prohibited weapons, those items described as having no other use other than as weapons, include:

• switchblades
• pepper spray
• brass knuckles
• crossbows
• throwing stars
• nunchaku
• spiked wristbands

The significant 2023 seizure referenced by the CBSA led to the arrest of a Vaughan, Ont. man and dozens of charges being filed against him.

The long list of items recovered via several search warrants executed during the lengthy investigation included guns, knives, other weapons, replica firearms, cocaine, more than $60,000 in counterfeit cash and a wide array of police gear including bulletproof vests and bogus law enforcement badges.

Also seized were numerous clothing patches depicting law enforcement, intelligence and military logos, a complete police uniform, police identity cards, counterfeit police warrant cards, more than 70 rounds of ammunition, stun guns and sets of brass knuckles.

Agency officials also pointed to another seizure as being noteworthy: that of drugs used in “suicide kits” that were being sold online to people in Canada and around the world.

That case led to the arrest of Kenneth Law, of Mississauga.

Other notable seizures between Jan. 1 and Oct. 31, 2023, according to the agency, include:

• $4.8 million in heroin found in a suitcase at Pearson Airport
• $1.7 million in cocaine found in suitcases with false linings at Pearson Airport
• more than $2.3 million in suspected ketamine concealed in the false bottom of an exhaust fan at Pearson Airport

(Cover photo: Canada Border Services Agency)