Florida woman charged attempting to smuggle 56 guns into Ontario

A Florida woman is facing a number of charges after she was caught attempting to smuggle almost 60 firearms into Ontario.

The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) says on November 1, a car was attempting to enter the province at the Blue Water Bridge in Sarnia where it was referred for secondary examination.

“During the examination, CBSA officers discovered 56 undeclared prohibited firearms, 13 over-capacity magazines, 43 ten-round pistol magazines and 100 rounds of ammunition, located in boxes in the trunk of the car,” said the border agency, calling it one of the largest single firearm seizures in the province’s history.

Vivian Richard, 48, of Oakland Park, Florida is facing a number of Customs Act and Criminal Code charges including attempting to smuggle, unauthorized possession of a prohibited weapon or restricted weapon, and possession for purpose of weapons trafficking.

According to the CBSA website, more than 6,800 firearms and prohibited weapons had been seized through the first quarter of the year.