Handle with care: guns, grenades arriving in Canada by postal mail

OTTAWA – A newly declassified RCMP report says criminals are using the Canadian postal system to transport illicit goods including guns, grenades, dangerous chemicals and, in one case, even a rocket launcher.

The criminal intelligence report says counterfeit items — from fake Olympic hockey sweaters to bogus passports — as well as drugs such as cocaine and heroin are also coming into the country through Canada Post.

The report calls for greater collaboration between police and postal officials to detect the contraband, noting legislation limits the ability of police to search and seize mail.

The Canadian Press obtained a copy of the document under the Access to Information Act, though several sensitive passages were deleted.

The November 2012 report draws on information from more than a dozen police forces and Canada’s border agency.

It says handguns, ammunition, brass knuckles, body armour, hand grenades, stun guns and signal jamming devices are being shipped to Canada from abroad.