A new internal audit says criminals are quietly moving illegal weapons into Canada by slipping plastic gun components through the mail, a tactic the Canada Border Services Agency warns is becoming harder to detect as technology advances.According to Blacklock's Reporter, auditors cited an April 29, 2024 email from the Agency’s president noting that ghost guns are increasingly being added to “an arsenal of illegal weapons” entering the country in small, discreet shipments meant to evade screening. The report, Audit Of Postal Operations, said officers have intercepted multiple falsely declared parcels all headed to the same address, each containing prohibited firearms parts and 3D‑printing equipment used to build untraceable weapons.The audit warned that without constant vigilance, high‑risk items could slip through the system and “impact the health and safety of citizens.”.Officers assigned to international mail inspections work out of Canada Post sorting plants in Vancouver, Toronto and Montréal, where most primary inspection lanes are equipped with x‑ray machines.Auditors said small parcels remain a preferred method for smuggling firearms, parts and ammunition because senders can remain anonymous and recipients can direct packages to post office boxes. Despite the risks, the report found national headquarters does not monitor whether frontline staff consistently follow screening policies, leaving gaps in oversight.The audit did not estimate how many illegal guns enter Canada by mail each year, but a separate 2023 CBSA evaluation found officers seized 68,338 firearms shipped through the postal system between 2018 and 2022.A 2023 Public Safety report noted that only a portion of incoming parcels are screened at all. Detection technology was used on 65% of mail in 2021, dropping to 46% in 2022, meaning as much as half of cross‑border packages were never x‑rayed.
