Judge rules accused gun smuggler can be extradited
An Alberta judge has ruled there is enough of a case to extradite a man accused of participating in schemes to smuggle handguns from the United States to Canada.
In a hearing in Edmonton Tuesday, Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Douglas Mah found there is sufficient evidence to warrant Colby Stephan Skolseg being committed for extradition to the U.S.
Skolseg ’s fate is now in the hands of the federal justice minister, who ultimately decides whether Canadian citizens should be surrendered to U.S. authorities to face trial.
Skolseg is alleged to have smuggled or attempted to smuggle handguns with defaced serial numbers from the U.S. to Canada. The charges have not been proven in court.
The alleged schemes involved shipping guns purchased at U.S. gun shows hidden inside aquarium equipment, as well as arranging to have 25 guns shipped to Canada from a seller in West Virginia using The Armoury, a site affiliated with the online black market Silk Road.
According to a record of the case submitted by the assistant U.S. attorney for the District of Montana, Department of Homeland Security officials began an investigation into Skolseg and an alleged co-conspirator in 2010.
At one point, border officials allegedly found Skolseg in possession of a FedEx waybill that corresponded to a package later found to contain eight handguns with missing serial numbers, concealed in a piece of aquarium equipment. U.S. authorities allege the plan was to resell the handguns in Canada.
Court heard Skolseg has no criminal record in Canada. He faces four U.S. counts of attempting to conceal items for illegal export and a count of possessing firearms with “obliterated” serial numbers.