An American man has been accused of trying to cross the border with a hidden cache of weapons and ammunition that included an anti-tank rocket launcher, say Canadian customs officials. Debbie Johnson of Canada Customs and Revenue Agency said a man in a moving van entered Saskatchewan from North Dakota at the North Portal border crossing Sunday, about 45 kilometres southeast of Estevan. He told customs officers he was transporting goods to an address in Alaska and wasn't carrying any weapons. But a search proved otherwise. In addition to the rocket launcher, the items seized included 13 rifles and shotguns, three loaded handguns, four live smoke grenades, two training grenades, 4,300 rounds of ammunition, seven prohibited ammunition clips and one blackjack. "One of the guns was in a box marked kitchen utensils," Ms. Johnson explained.
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Inspectors also found a copy of a Canada Customs brochure entitled Importing a Firearm or Weapon into Canada. "We feel he was aware there were special requirements with the guns and he chose not to follow them," she said. Mark Eller, 36, of Walker, Minn., was released on $5,000 cash bail after he appeared Thursday in provincial court and pleaded not guilty to smuggling, failure to report imported goods, possession of goods unlawfully imported to Canada and lying to customs officials. With a summary conviction, each charge would carry a maximum penalty of $50,000 and six months in jail. The RCMP has also charged him with a number of weapons charges, including unsafe storage of firearms.
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