Two Brampton men are charged after OPP say a tractor-trailer carrying 72 illegal handguns and 66 prohibited devices was stopped at a Ministry of Transportation inspection station in northern Ontario.
In February, the Ontario Provincial Police-led Border Drug Interdiction Task Force began an intelligence-led investigation into alleged cocaine trafficking, police said in a news release Thursday.
On Sept. 11, investigators identified a northbound tractor-trailer linked to the investigation, originating in Toronto.
The tractor-trailer was stopped at a MTO inspection station near Temiskaming Shores. A search warrant was executed with assistance from OPP Organized Crime Enforcement Bureau, OPP Provincial Guns and Gangs Enforcement Team, OPP North East Region Community Street Crime Units, OPP Canine Unit and Temiskaming OPP.
Officers seized 72 illegal handguns and 66 prohibited devices. All of the handguns originated in the United States, preliminary tracing results from the Criminal Intelligence Service Ontario-managed Firearms Analysis and Tracing Enforcement Program found.
Balraj Singh, 31, has been charged with 72 counts of weapons trafficking and possession for the purpose of trafficking – cocaine.
He was remanded into custody and is to appear before the Ontario Court of Justice in Toronto on a later date.
Kawalbir Singh, 21, has been charged with 72 counts of weapons trafficking and also was remanded into custody. He is to appear before the Ontario Court of Justice in Toronto on Oct. 22.
“This seizure of 72 illegal handguns and dozens of prohibited devices is a powerful example of what can be achieved through coordinated, intelligence-led investigations. These firearms originated in the United States, highlighting the importance of partnerships with law enforcement agencies across borders,” said OPP Chief Superintendent Mike Stoddart.
“We’ve disrupted a significant criminal operation and taken dangerous weapons out of circulation,” Stoddart added.
