LETHBRIDGE, AB – It was still less busy throughout 2021 at Alberta’s international border crossings, due to COVID-19 restrictions, but officers here in the southern part of the province still had quite a few notable exchanges.
There were two incidents at the Coutts land crossing.
In February, an American traveler – who was trying to get to Alaska – was arrested for having an undeclared handgun and 21 prohibited magazines in their vehicle. A few months later in July, officers found out that another American traveler had $10,000 in cash, despite them claiming that they didn’t have any money on them. The cash was seized and the traveler was sent back to the US.
Also in July, officers at the Calgary International Airport repatriated and cleared a sacred Prairie Chicken Society Headdress and a Weather Dance Robe that were going back to the Siksika Nation.
Between January and the end of October, Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) officers across the Prairie Region – which covers 34 land crossings, four marine reporting sites and 26 airports in parts of Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and the Northwest Territories – processed nearly 500,000 commercial trucks, 8.9-million courier shipments and just shy of 1.1-million travelers.