The Canada Border Services Agency had a very busy 2011 in Manitoba. (CBSA / HANDOUT)
Canadian border officials in Manitoba were kept busy in 2011, releasing their annual list of highlights from the past year on Thursday.
The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) said highlights included a child pornography smuggler convicted and sentenced to two years in jail, a gang member being deported, five firearms seized in Boissevain, and more than 170 counterfeit Winnipeg Jets jerseys intercepted.
Spring flooding affected border operations at the Gretna border crossing, forcing its closure due to Highway 75 becoming inaccessible, and additional commercial trucks diverted to Boissevain from Saskatchewan. The CBSA says there were minimal disruptions to their operations during this time.
Additional highlights for the CBSA in Manitoba during 2011:
- 300,000 international travellers entered Canada at Winnipeg James Armstrong International Airport on 6,500 international and transborder flights.
- 20 claims for refugee protection
- 85 people deported
- More than 1,000 foreign nationals refused entry into Canada
- Timothy Owen sentenced to 24 months in jail for smuggling child pornography
- Darlene Ewen sentenced to a $5,000 fine for aiding and abetting a foreign national to commit an offence
- $420,326 in undeclared currency seized
- More than 170 suspected counterfeit Winnipeg Jets jerseys intercepted and turned over to RCMP before authentic jerseys had been made available for sale
- 442 weapons seized, including stun guns, knives
- Three child pornography seizures and arrests
