Guns, chemicals seized after illegal border crossing investigation: RCMP

An investigation into illegal border crossings between Saskatchewan and Montana ended with two men in custody and the seizure of several prohibited firearms, along with a stash of suspicious chemicals.

According to the RCMP, police received a notification from the United States Border Patrol on January 6, stating that a person had illegally crossed from the United States into Saskatchewan in a remote area near Val Marie. The same person then illegally returned to the United States, the RCMP said, and two men were arrested south of the border after American authorities stopped their truck.

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While the arrests were taking place, the RCMP said officers searched the area in Saskatchewan where the illegal crossing allegedly took place, and located a box containing a prohibited pistol.

Two days later, Mounties executed a search warrant at a home on Ninth Avenue North in Saskatoon as part of the same investigation.

“Upon entry to the residence, RCMP officers found quantities of chemicals/compounds in several different locations and required the assistance of the Saskatchewan RCMP’s Explosives Disposal Unit and RCMP and Saskatoon Police Service’s Clandestine Lab experts to dispose of them safely,” the RCMP said in a statement.

“Materials were seized and sent to Health Canada for further analysis.”

At the home, officers also found and seized four firearms – two of which were described as prohibited – along with roughly 500 rounds of ammunition.

Police said the two men – a 19-year-old from Calgary and a 19-year-old from Saskatoon, both Canadian citizens – were returned to Canada, and are not facing charges in the United States. On this side of the border, however, they were both charged with possession of a firearm without a licence, unauthorized possession of prohibited devices without a licence, unauthorized importation of a firearm to Canada, and smuggling a prohibited firearm into Canada clandestinely.

“This investigation remains ongoing and additional charges may result,” the RCMP noted. “They will both appear in Swift Current Provincial Court next on February 12, 2025.”

RCMP superintendent Andrew Farquhar said the case provides “an excellent example” of how collaboration and quick action can lead to a larger investigation that spans across multiple communities.

“It highlights how vital policing relationships are in disrupting criminal activity and keeping the public safe on both sides of the Canadian-U.S. border,” Farquhar said in a statement.