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Guns seized at Beaver Creek border

The Beaver Creek border station has seen a lot of activity in the past couple months. In February and March the Canadian Border Services Agency intercepted three attempts to smuggle weapons into Canada.
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The Beaver Creek border station has seen a lot of activity in the past couple months.

In February and March the Canadian Border Services Agency intercepted three attempts to smuggle weapons into Canada.

The first incident took place on February 15, when U.S. resident Roger Allen Marden failed to declare a handgun, a loaded assault rifle and an empty 30-round magazine, according to a news release. Marden was charged on March 5 with two counts of smuggling, two counts of possession of a prohibited firearm with ammunition, and one count of possession of a prohibited weapon.

The second incident occurred on February 24, when U.S. resident Philip Plemons declared three non-restricted firearms at the border. Officers referred him to a secondary examination, and found a handgun with ammunition and magazines, an assault rifle, and an additional 79 prohibited magazines. He was charged with nine counts of weapons-related offences under the Canada’s Criminal Code and Customs Act on March 5.

And on March 1, Alaska resident Wayne Robert Eckler failed to declare several firearms in his possession, which were later discovered through a secondary examination. Eckler was charged on March 14 with one count for the unauthorized possession of firearm and one count for the possession of a prohibited firearm with ammunition.

Under Canadian law all weapons and firearms must be reported when entering the country. Failure to do so may result in criminal prosecution.

“Every day, border services officers in remote border crossings work extremely hard to safeguard the safety and security of Canadians,” said Trevor Baird, the border service agency’s Whitehorse chief of operations, in a news release. “In a small community such as Beaver Creek, we are protecting those Canadians who are our friends, our families and members of the community we often know by name. We take great pride in situations such as these, where we have made a real difference in the communities that we serve.”

Contact Jacqueline Ronson at jronson@yukon-news.com