Alaskan man caught smuggling illegal guns into Canada, they will be destroyed

Kettering face serious jail time for gun smuggling

In Canada, it is illegal to openly carry a firearm in public unless you are a member of law enforcement. Canada has some of the strictest gun laws on the planet and with pending legislation working its way through parliament, they are about to get tougher.

Unlike the US, where the right to carry arms is in engrained into their constitution, Canada believes guns are a privilege not a right. The two countries gun laws are like oil and water. The majority of Americans vehemently oppose background checks, selling guns to convicted felons, people with mental illness and high round assault rifles. This is why America has the most deaths, mass shootings and accidental injuries caused by guns.

As of May 1, 2020, more than 1,500 models and variants of assault-style firearms are now classified as prohibited and individuals cannot legally import them into Canada.

If Kettering had declared that he was in possession prohibited firearms at the border, he would have been offered the option to export or abandon them; since he failed to declare the firearms, they were seized and will ultimately be destroyed.

Today, the Canada Boarder Service Agency (CBSA) Criminal Investigations division announced charges against American Corey Scott Kettering, 33, of Alaska following an incident at the Abbotsford-Huntingdon, British Columbia port of entry on July 27, 2020 in which CBSA officers seized 14 firearms:

• four prohibited semi-automatic rifles (assault-style);
• three prohibited handguns;
• one restricted handgun; and,
• six non-restricted long guns.

Kettering was arrested and released on an undertaking. He is scheduled to appear in Abbotsford Provincial Court on September 21, 2020 to face charges on the following counts:

• smuggling, pursuant to Section 159 of the Customs Act (x1);
• making false or deceptive statements, pursuant to Section 153(a) of the Customs Act (x1);
• possession of a prohibited or restricted firearm with ammunition, pursuant to Section 95(1) of the Criminal Code (x7); and,
• unauthorized possession of a firearm, pursuant to Section 91(1) of the Criminal Code (x6).

Travellers are encouraged to leave their firearms at home when seeking entry to Canada. However, travellers with firearms must declare them to the CBSA officer at the first opportunity and meet import regulations.

If convicted, Kettering will face serious jail time and then deported from the country once he has served his time and face a life time ban from re-entering the country.

More great reading