'Ghost guns' found in Sarnia twice in the last month

A new kind of firearm is making things difficult for police services.

Const. John Sottosanti of the Sarnia Police Service (SPS) expects to see more calls featuring what are known as ghost guns. The SPS answered a call as recently as Aug. 5 that dealt with a ghost gun.

"Due to the fact that there was a firearm in the residence, a warrant was requested and a search was conducted of the residence, which in the end turned up the firearm," said Sottosanti.

That was the second call involving a ghost gun the SPS has dealt with in the last month. Sottosanti said the first call came from a bystander who found what they believed to be a replica handgun on the side of a road. After further examination, it was determined to be another ghost gun.

A ghost gun is a firearm that has no serial number, which makes it difficult to trace. And they can be even harder to detect.

Parts of a gun are individually manufactured. One part might be produced by a 3D printer, whereas other parts might be manufactured through a machine shop or illegally ordered into the country.

Sottosanti is concerned about how parts are entering communities across Canada.

"Rather than having to steal the firearms or having them trafficked into the country, they're able to traffic in or bring in these parts or manufacture these parts and then put the gun together," said Sottosanti. "They're no different than any other firearm that's commercially manufactured. They have the same fierceness that any other gun would."

Sottosanti says general firearm calls are increasing in frequency. He is also noticing that people from outside Sarnia are coming to the city to conduct criminal activity, "bringing whatever tools that they're using in their jurisdiction to our jurisdiction".

"A lot of them are coming from the [Greater Toronto Area], Hamilton, even Windsor," says Sottosanti.

In a statement to CBC News, the Windsor Police Service said it actively works "with our U.S. and Canadian partners to share intelligence and resources to combat the illegal importation of firearms into our community."

"Crime and technology continue to evolve and require engagement from various stakeholders to combat gun violence and the presence of illegal firearms in our community."

Hamilton police did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The problem is not unique to southwestern Ontario. Ghost guns and their parts are being seized across the country.

The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) announced on Aug. 3 that it made "two significant seizures of "ghost guns" in the B.C. interior following interceptions at international mail centres." The seizures were conducted on April 27 and 28.

Public Safety Minister Marco Mendocino was in Windsor on April 11. He discussed what the federal government is doing to combat ghost guns in Canada.

"We are examining, very closely here in Canada, potential ways in which criminals may be trying to circumvent the law by breaking up the different elements of a ghost gun," said Mendicino. "We want to make sure that our laws reflect that if you try to use 3D technology to circumvent firearms regulation, to circumvent the law, that we're going to be on it."