Bellingham man with 3 guns suspected of illegally crossing border through Peace Arch Park
A U.S. citizen reportedly illegally crossed the border from Whatcom County into Canada through Peace Arch State Park while carrying three loaded handguns and a stun gun.
The British Columbia Royal Canadian Mounted Police Federal Policing Border Integrity announced the arrest of John Wright in a news release Wednesday, April 13. Wright is believed to be a resident of Bellingham, RCMP Federal Serious and Organized Crime spokesperson Cpl. Arash Seyed told The Bellingham Herald in an email.
Wright has been charged with possession of a restricted firearm with ammunition, smuggling and failure to comply with the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.
According to the release, Wright illegally entered Canada from Blaine into Surrey, B.C., through the Peace Arch State Park on March 31 and joined a Canadian woman in a waiting cab.
RCMP Federal Policing Border Integrity officers responded and arrested Wright under the Customs Act, according to the release, and discovered Wright had three loaded handguns and a stun gun, which were all seized.
“The excellent work of identifying and preventing an alleged armed individual from entering Canada is a demonstration of the BC RCMP Border Enforcement Team’s dedication to protecting Canadians from transnational criminal threats,” Superintendent Bert Ferreira, who is the officer in charge of Federal Serious and Organized Crime — Border Integrity Program in British Columbia, said in the release.
Wright has been remanded until a bail hearing, according to the release, and the incident remains under investigation.
The Canadian woman also was arrested at the time of the incident but was released, Seyed told The Herald, and no charges are expected to be recommended against her.
