SAINTE-ANNE-DE-MADAWASKA, NB, June 20, 2024 /CNW/ - The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) is committed to keeping Canadians safe and ensuring individuals who attempt to smuggle illegal firearms across the border are held accountable.

On June 18, 2024, a New Brunswick man appeared in Edmundston Provincial Court for sentencing after pleading guilty to numerous firearm-related offences, including smuggling and firearm manufacturing. Daniel Marcel Ruest (57) of Sainte-Anne-de-Madawaska, NB was sentenced to 4.5 years in prison. This sentence is the result of an investigation led by CBSA investigators in New Brunswick, following a seizure made by CBSA officers in Ontario.

In May 2023, border services officers in the Greater Toronto Area Region intercepted three suspicious parcels addressed to Ruest. The parcels contained a firearm suppressor and two replica handguns, all of which are considered prohibited in Canada. The parcels were seized and the matter was referred to CBSA Criminal Investigations in New Brunswick for further investigation.

As a result of a collaborative investigation with the Edmundston Police Force, CBSA Criminal Investigations and local police arrested Ruest in Edmundston, NB on September 11, 2023. Following the arrest, the Edmundston Police Force conducted a search of his vehicle and seized numerous items, including a .22 caliber shotgun, bear banger loaded with a 12-gauge cartridge, as well as rounds of ammunition.

CBSA investigators and intelligence officers, with assistance from CBSA Detector Dog Services, the RCMP National Weapons Enforcement Support Team and New Brunswick RCMP West District, then executed a search warrant on Ruest's residence in Sainte-Anne-de-Madawaska, NB. He was transported to the Edmundston Police station, where he was held until the search warrant was completed.

During the search, CBSA seized six unsecured long rifles, six unsecured sawed-off shotguns, an unsecured .38 caliber revolver and an unsecured semi-automatic pistol, as well as four self-manufactured firearms, brass knuckles, one stun gun, six firearm suppressors, a ballistic vest and five prohibited spring knives.

On April 4, 2024, Ruest pled guilty to a number of Customs Act and Criminal Code (CC) charges laid by CBSA Criminal Investigations. On June 18, 2024, he was convicted of the following offences:

• S.159 Customs Act for smuggling;
• S. 99(1) CC Manufacturing of firearms;
• S. 91(1) CC Unauthorized possession of prohibited firearms;
• S. 91(1) CC Unauthorized possession of a restricted firearm;
• S. 91(1) CC Unauthorized possession of non-restricted firearms;
• S. 91(2) CC prohibited devices;
• S. 92(2) CC prohibited weapon;
• S. 95(1) CC loaded prohibited firearms;
• S. 95(1) CC Prohibited firearm with readily accessible ammunitions.

The sentence delivered to Ruest in court also included a number of convictions on additional charges laid by the Edmundston Police Force, under the Criminal Code and Controlled Drugs and Substance Act.

"We are proud of the work CBSA employees are doing to keep prohibited firearms and devices out of Canada. This type of collaboration with our law enforcement partners and the resulting sentence makes a real difference in protecting Canadians."

Corina Klattenhoff, Interim Director of Enforcement and Intelligence Operations Division, Canada Border Services Agency, Atlantic Region

• Between January 1 and December 31, 2023, the CBSA kept over 1,100 firearms and 24,400 prohibited weapons off our streets.
  
  
• Prohibited firearms and devices are high-risk commodities and keeping them out of Canada is a CBSA enforcement priority.
  
  
• For the latest weapons and firearms enforcement statistics, visit Canada Border Services Agency seizures.
  
  
• View a list of restricted and prohibited goods, including firearms.
  
  
• If you have information about suspicious cross-border activity, please contact the CBSA Border Watch  Line.

SOURCE Canada Border Services Agency