5-year sentence for B.C. man found with prohibited firearm at Canada-U.S. border

The Canada Border Services Agency provided this photo of a prohibited firearm seized at a border crossing in Surrey, B.C.

A B.C. man has been sentenced to five years in prison on a number of firearms charges stemming from the search of his vehicle at the Canada-U.S. border.

Russell Vernon Major was returning to Canada in August of 2022 when officers with the Canada Border Services Agency conducted the search.

"Officers discovered an undeclared Glock-style Polymer80 handgun and two prohibited magazines," a news release from CSA says.

Major was charged under the Customs Act with one count of smuggling and one count of making false statements. He was also charged under the Criminal Code with possession of a prohibited firearm with ammunition, possession of prohibited devices, importation of a prohibited firearm and importation of a prohibited device, the agency said.

The sentence, which also incudes providing a DNA sample and a firearms prohibition, was handed down in Surrey last month.

“This sentencing sends a strong message that those who knowingly violate Canada’s firearm laws will be held to justice and the smuggling of illegal firearms will not be tolerated," Federal Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc said in a statement.