Shutting Down Illegal Gun-Running between the U.S. and Canada

"I want to apologize on behalf of the people of the United States of America for our guys bringing guns to your country."

"The guns were purchased at different locations here, and they were making a lot of money bringing them to Canada. There's a huge markup. The idea was to bring them to a place where they could sell them for a lot of money."

David DeVillers, U.S.Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio

 

"He [Abdirahman O.Abdirahman] showed up at the courthouse."

"He showed up and he chose not to testify… He was always reluctant to [testify], though, and didn’t really tell me why, but we probably can guess why."

Eric Hoffman, Abdirahman’s lawyer

Guns are killing Canadians at a rate not seen in a decade, and gun control can only address part of the problem. Police suggest about half of the guns used to commit crimes are smuggled from outside the country. Most of those are believed to be coming from our southern neighbours through an illegal pipeline

  

New indictments against ten people were posted this week  following a series of prosecutions and arrests in the U.S. Details have slowly begun to be revealed that instruct just how it is that guns from the United States are illegally smuggled into Canada. Where a handgun that smugglers buy in the U.S. for $500 can be sold on the street or by pre-arrangement on order to gang members in Canada, where the going price can be up to ten times higher, assuring a tidy profit for the gun-runners. 

Federal agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were on watch when a young man visiting from Toronto and his partner, a local Columbus, Ohio resident ambled around the Ohio Expo Center gun show going from vendor to vendor looking at handguns, passing time talking to sellers at the show. Then they quietly spoke with two women to whom they had entrusted several thousand in cash. As the men walked off, the women approached several vendors to buy four semi-automatic handguns.

 Photo by Getty Images

Outside the center, the two women casually met up with the two men, handing the weapons over, and accepting their agreed-upon bonus of $500 for their usefulness as 'straw' buyers. And that's when the jig was up, so to speak, and the agents moved in to make an arrest and take possession of the firearms. A gun-smuggling group in operation for a number of years moving firearms across the border into Canada was being put to rest. Only one of many operating for huge profits, but it's a start.

On Wednesday, seven men were arrested for conspiracy, while four others are considered fugitives whom U.S. authorities are searching for. One of them, 23-year-old Hussain Ahmed whom Ohio authorities identify as a resident of Toronto, Canada who has helped to both legally and illegally buy guns to be smuggled into Canada for resale there. The guns to be stockpiled and smuggled in bulk into Canada by female drivers recruited with the prospect of a free trip to Canada, drugs and alcohol thrown in for good measure.

Hidden in rented or leased Toyota Camry sedans in the vehicles' centre console, handy for storage, it is believed the group succeeded in moving over 30 guns into Canada. While crossing back into the U.S. in April, 2018 two of the men were found with $11,000 in their possession -- while in September of that same year, another pair was found with $25,000 at Columbus airport in a flight back to the U.S. from Canada.

Omar Sharif Mohamed Hassan, 24, a resident of Columbus, is identified as one of the leaders of the smuggling gang, according to U.S. prosecutors. Recruiting other members to the scheme he purportedly instructed them on how they must carry out the process, overseeing the buying and stockpiling of guns, along with the smuggling activities into Canada. He evidently also disciplined those who made errors during the operation, as an enforcer, according to the indictment.

Cars were apprehended while attempting to cross into Canada on at least three occasions, and guns discovered inside the vehicles; on March 22, April 20, and April 23, 2019 -- according to Canada Border Services Agency. Before the final one of those border stops, Hassan was seen driving the wrong way on a one-way street in Columbus, where police discovered two guns during the traffic stop that ensued. By then the border smuggling trips had been on the increase.

In the wake of the event at the Ohio Expo Center gun show, the man from Columbus, Abdirahman O.Abdirahman had been arrested and charged for his part in the illegal purchase of guns. Authorities had attempted to persuade the man to co-operate, but called to testify before the grand jury against co-conspirators, he balked. Prosecutor DeVillers assured that the current indictments do not spell the end of the case.

Once Ahmed is located and an extradition hearing takes place, additional arrests will occur. "The investigation is ongoing. We are not done yet. We are still investigating other defendants and other circumstances with your [Canadian] law enforcement", the state prosecutor for Ohio stated in an interview with Canadian news.

Wes Winkel, is the owner of the Ellwood Epps sporting goods store in Severn, Ont. He says it can be tough for retailers to pick out a possible straw buyer, and law enforcement authorities have been slow to identify them based on sales records. (Mia Sheldon/CBC)