{"id":4281,"date":"2018-08-01T10:17:32","date_gmt":"2018-08-01T14:17:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/clearit.ca\/canadian-customs-broker-blog\/?p=4281"},"modified":"2018-10-24T09:59:28","modified_gmt":"2018-10-24T13:59:28","slug":"finds-canadian-customs-border","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/clearit.ca\/canadian-customs-broker-blog\/finds-canadian-customs-border\/","title":{"rendered":"The Common And Not So Common Finds At The Canadian Customs Border"},"content":{"rendered":"

The national border is a place where all sorts of weird and wonderful things are found — you\u2019d be surprised what people actually think they can bring into the country! But with tighter border control and more stringent customs regulations<\/a> coming into force across the board, the margins are becoming finer as to what is deemed acceptable and what is not.<\/p>\n

Of course, there will always be those who (probably due to ignorance more than anything) will arrive at the border with strange items and artifacts that they will naively try to bring into Canada. With that in mind, what exactly are some of the most popular and some of the more odd things people have tried to import? Let\u2019s take a look!<\/p>\n

Gun and Weapons <\/b><\/p>\n

Not surprisingly, perhaps, guns are a popular find for customs agents at the border. Why? Because Americans tend to forget that gun laws do in fact exist in other countries. Innocently or otherwise, many Americans will attempt to enter Canada carrying weapons which may not be illegal in the States, but are banned further north.<\/p>\n

With the ever present debate regarding gun laws in America, and the alarming fact that they are actually on the rise despite the numerous recent tragedies, it\u2019s becoming more of a problem for the Canadian border.<\/p>\n

On average, the CBSA seize 569 guns a year at the border, not to mention the thousands of other confiscated weapons including knives.<\/p>\n

Animals<\/b><\/p>\n

While not illegal to import animals, those which do not meet their import requirements are automatically seized. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) requires documentation for all animals entering Canada<\/a>, and for those more unusual pets, there are further conditions which must be met.<\/p>\n

In 2016, 586 animals were seized by Canadian customs for being in breach of the Customs Act. Don\u2019t worry – they\u2019re all kept in safe hands by the CBSA and other departmental bodies until a solution is found!<\/p>\n

Drugs and alcohol <\/b><\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve ever watched a customs tv program or documentary, you\u2019ll quickly realize what the number 1 culprit is for seizure at the border — drugs. While in other cases people can be forgiven for being naive in terms of their knowledge of what is and isn\u2019t allowed into the country, I don\u2019t think anyone could plead ignorance in the case of drugs. If they\u2019re being seized by customs, they\u2019ve been intentionally smuggled. And caught.<\/p>\n

Yet, the drugs industry is huge, and whether we like it or not, attempted drug smuggling continues to occur all over the world on a daily basis. In Canada, there has been a significant rise in the amount of fentanyl being seized at the borders, largely coming from China or Hong Kong.<\/p>\n

Fentanyl\u2019s infiltration into the drug market in Canada has been well documented in recent years. As an opiod that\u2019s 50 times more potent than heroin, it\u2019s imperative border control continue to crack down on the substance. Of course, as with anything that\u2019s being illegally smuggled, it\u2019s often easier said than done — people are continuing to find new and bizarre way of hiding drugs, including filling Lindt chocolate with methamphetamine!<\/p>\n

Some not so common finds\u2026<\/b><\/p>\n

While firearms and drugs are a typical find for a customs officer, some of the following are not so much! These have all been genuinely confiscated at one point in time at the Canadian border.<\/p>\n