A 52-year-old Sarnia man is facing weapons and smuggling charges after allegedly attempting to import Tasers from a foreign source.
Late last month, city police were contacted by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) following an intercept by border officers at the Vancouver International Mail Centre. CBSA criminal investigators in the Pacific Region determined that packages were being mailed to an address in central Sarnia.
On September 1 at about 8:45 a.m., Sarnia Police Service Criminal Investigations Branch, Emergency Response Team, and CBSA officers jointly executed a search warrant at the address and later arrested a suspect. City police have charged Geoffrey Scott Meredith with unauthorized importing of a prohibited weapon, and the CBSA has charged him with one count of attempting to evade compliance with the Customs Act and one count of smuggling under the Custom Act.
City police Cst. John Sottosanti reminds the public that just because you can order something through the mail, doesn't make it legal.
"Unfortunately, there's a lot of things that can be shipped over from other countries that are accepted in other countries but not necessarily accepted here or legal here in Canada. So before you choose to purchase something of this nature, do your investigating, make sure that it's not a prohibited device, the onus is on you -- you can't just plead ignorance and say 'I didn't know.'"
Cst. Sottosanti said it's alleged the accused in the Taser case knew what he was ordering and did it with intent.
