3D-printed 'ghost guns' seized in B.C.: CBSA

VANCOUVER - Border officers report so-called "ghost guns" made from 3D-printed parts have been seized in the B.C. Interior, after international deliveries were intercepted at mail centres in Vancouver and Toronto.

The Canada Border Services Agency says in a statement that officers executed a search warrant in West Kelowna on April 27 in relation to the smuggled firearms parts and discovered a 3D printing machine in the process of printing a handgun frame.

The agency says six completed handgun frames, all without serial numbers, were seized at the property.

CBSA says it searched a property in Lumby, B.C., the next day and seized a loaded 9-mm handgun with no serial number, nine non-restricted long guns, a prohibited knife, a stun gun and four canisters of ammunition.

Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino says in a statement that "ghost guns," which lack serial numbers, pose a "serious risk" because they are easy to make and difficult to trace.

Today, the Minister of @Safety_Canada visited #CBSA employees in #SaultSteMarie. Border services officers demonstrated their ongoing commitment to keeping our communities safe by tackling firearm smuggling into Canada. pic.twitter.com/Ytw94yj9UO

— Canada Border Services Agency (@CanBorder) August 3, 2022

The agency says two men arrested during the raids have been released pending further investigation.

Smuggling firearms into Canada is punishable by a maximum penalty of five years' imprisonment and a $500,000 fine.