Two people crossed a river by boat into Ontario with 59 illegal guns and were arrested, according to police.
In a press release posted on December 2, Cornwall RCMP said members with their integrated border integrity team conducted a firearms smuggling investigation on November 26 after two people crossed the St. Lawrence River into Cornwall.
Three big bags were taken off the boat and put into a vehicle that left the area, police said. RCMP then carried out a roadside stop of the vehicle and found illegal firearms and high-capacity magazines. Officers seized a total of 53 restricted and prohibited pistols, 6 prohibited rifles, and 110 high-capacity magazines.
"As is the case with the vast majority of unlawful guns, it is believed these firearms were destined for criminal networks and illicit gun trafficking groups," RCMP wrote in the release.
RCMP | Handout
Quebec residents Inti Falero-Delgado, 25, and Vladimir Souffrant, 49, were both placed under arrest.
Falero-Delgado and Souffrant were both charged with possession of weapons for purpose of trafficking, unauthorized possession of a firearm, and possession of a firearm knowing its possession is unauthorized.
They both appeared in bail court already and were released on varying conditions. They will both appear in court on January 11, 2022, by video.
This is not the first large gun seizure in Ontario in recent weeks. Last month, an American woman was arrested at a land border in Ontario after Canada Border Services Agency officers discovered 56 illegal firearms in the trunk of her car.