American traveller had hidden handgun: border services agency

A 49-year-old American was allegedly found with a disassembled handgun on his person during a customs interview, according to the Canada Border Services Agency.

Gregory Glenn Gaskin, 49, of Sutton, Mass., pleaded guilty to three Customs Act charges through a lawyer last Thursday in Saint John provincial court, according to Crown prosecutor Peter Thorn. Charges included smuggling a Ruger SR40c semiautomatic pistol into the country, failing to report an item and making false statements.

In an email Friday, border agency spokesperson Jacqueline Roby said that Gaskin was arrested April 19 after officers at the St. Stephen 3rd Bridge referred a traveller for a secondary examination. Officers allegedly "discovered an undisclosed disassembled firearm concealed on the individual."

Judge Andrew Palmer ordered a pre-sentence report and Gaskin's sentencing was scheduled for Sept. 19.

"Canada’s firearms laws are clear – all travellers must declare any firearms in their possession to a CBSA officer when seeking entry to Canada," Roby said. "Anyone who does not declare them upon arrival can face prosecution and/or monetary penalties and the firearms, and the vehicle used to carry them, may be seized."

Andrew Bates, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Telegraph-Journal