Border Services probe nets 800 illegal replica guns, 78 criminal charges

[Mongoose]

Well...some maybe remember Peter Kang and his airsoft experiences with the law. Well...here's another!

Border Services probe nets 800 illegal replica guns, 78 criminal charges

Steve Mertl, THE CANADIAN PRESS
VANCOUVER - Canada Border Services Agency has charged four B.C. men for reselling replica handguns meant to be used for TV and film productions.

The agency wrapped up a two-year investigation that resulted in the seizure of 800 replica guns in all and 78 criminal charges.

"What we were looking into was the importation and sale of these replica firearms, mainly in the Lower Mainland," agency spokeswoman Shakila Manzoor said Thursday.

Charges range from smuggling and making false statements to trafficking and unlawfully importing the replica firearms.

The two charged most recently were George Tickell and Matthew John Walsh, both of Mission, B.C., who are scheduled to appear in Richmond, B.C., provincial court Aug. 21.

It's alleged Tickell had a business firearms licence to import replica guns for the entertainment industry but instead sold them to Walsh, who marketed them through two hobby stores he owned in Mission.

Two other Vancouver-area men were charged previously in the two-year probe, said Manzoor.

Peter Kang and his company Real Ordnance Inc. each face 21 charges while Willie Wong has pleaded guilty to seven charges.

Manzoor said the guns were sold to customers at the hobby store, as well as other retailers and Internet website customers, retailing for anywhere from $40 to $1,600.

The investigation into who bought the guns is continuing, she said.

Police investigators have said in the past they sometimes seize replica handguns from street thugs who want to bolster their reputations but can't obtain a real gun.

The replicas, impressively accurate fakes of Glock, Colt, Smith & Wesson and other well-known makes, were made of high-grade plastic composites or metal but could not be modified to fire bullets.

"The replicas we encountered in our investigation were very high-precision replicas of popular gun models," Manzoor said. "Many even included such details as the real manufacturer's trademarks."



© The Canadian Press, 2008


Story from TELUS NEWS:
http://www.mytelus.com/ncp_news/arti...icleID=2966443

[Jiggiwatt]

Investigation into who was sold everything...fun.

[Drache]

The investigation into who bought the guns is continuing, she said.

Great... I fear ASC is going to be getting some visitors....

It's not hard for someone to buy one of them then admit to turning around and selling it here on ASC. Then they come into ASC and learn hundreds of "illegal replicas" are posted for sale in the classifieds....

[HaZarD SFD]

This was an interesting read.

[spl01t77]

*breaks out the neon orange paint* this should be fun

[ShortCut]

Not good.... What are the chances of someone comming here, looking for ones sold? If they did come they wouldnt be able to see the classifieds, because they are not age verified right? or do they have a way of "Bypassing" that?

[Ktown Militia]

wow, i had a chill run down my spine.

[demco11]

If youve been in airsoft for the past 2 years in BC, you would know these people named in the article and which stores they ran.

They were very big suppliers here. Where a GBB ran you $200 and a AEG for about $400

[mcguyver]

Most of you guys have not been on ASC long enough to remember the guys named above.

Will Wong - Specarms
Matt Walsh - Warcraft Games
Peter Kang - Xtreme Precision, APEC, Blue Seas Trading and others

These were the guys who were in the last round of huge enforcement action by the CBSA. The whole "OMFG!! The sky is falling" shit from 2 years ago. Well, now you see the result.

These guys were large importers who sold many guns, and now the supply has virtually dried up. I'm sure that more arrests will follow, these weren't the only guys, but the biggest for certain.

[surebet]

And here I thought Kang was dead...

For the younger crowd who are facing their first "OMG THE SKY IS FALLING", please refrain from panicking. I doubt we're going to have party vans knocking on our doors just yet.

[pugs144]

Sorry to hear about Will. Great guy to do business with.

[Drache]

Originally Posted by ShortCut

Not good.... What are the chances of someone comming here, looking for ones sold? If they did come they wouldnt be able to see the classifieds, because they are not age verified right? or do they have a way of "Bypassing" that?

wouldn't be hard for a CBSA agent to put the squeeze on a verifier, trade it for some like not arresting them or some sort of spook tactic.

Like I said earlier, how hard is it to track down that Peter sold a gun to Frank. They go talk to Frank and want to know where the gun is. Frank tells them he sold it on Airsoftcanada.com. They come in here and realize that "illegal replicas" are being sold (not hard look at the classified names lol). So they contact a verifier (there's a list or find somewhere around the age verified thing, they have entire teams of computer geeks to do that sort of shit). Once they get in they start copying names, or HELL start "purchasing" guns to get bank info, emails, names, and addresses (I never put a return address). Or they set up a "sting" and sell guns to get addresses.

[demco11]

Originally Posted by surebet

And here I thought Kang was dead...

For the younger crowd who are facing their first "OMG THE SKY IS FALLING", please refrain from panicking. I doubt we're going to have party vans knocking on our doors just yet.

He is actually, may he RIP.
He brought airsoft into Canada and started its growth.

[Drake]

Tax dollars well spent. It's a relief to know no one aboard a Greyhound bus is going to get decapitated by some evil replica firearm.

</disgust>

[Rumpel Felt]

Oh fuck off CBSA, don't you have anything better to do....