Border fib turns costly

A U.S. citizen learned the hard way that a seemingly harmless lie to border officials has costly consequences.

When Matthew Dale Winn arrived at the Coutts border crossing last June on his way from Oregon to Alaska, he was asked whether he was carrying any firearms or other weapons. Had he said yes and produced his prohibited 9 mm Smith and Wesson handgun, the gun would have been confiscated but he would have been free to continue his trip to Alaska.

Instead, when a border officer asked about weapons, Winn lied and said he had left his gun at home and was going to have it shipped to Alaska. But during a search of his vehicle to verify his claim, officers found the gun in a trailer Winn was pulling behind his truck. They also found 113 rounds of ammunition.

Winn pleaded guilty Wednesday in Lethbridge provincial court to two counts of smuggling under the Canada Customs Act and was fined $8,000. His gun and ammo was also forfeited for destruction.

Crown prosecutor Matthew MacPherson said that even though the gun was properly secured, and Winn eventually co-operated with authorities, he first tried to mislead them after attempting to smuggle the prohibited gun into Canada.

Defence lawyer Wade Hlady told court Winn, who is a member of the U.S. Army, likely packed the gun “without thinking about it.” Then when he was questioned at the border he panicked and made a poor decision.

Although Winn was also prohibited under Canada’s Criminal Code from possessing guns and other weapons for 10 years, he was granted an exemption for work.