Commercial vehicle driver who accidentally followed GPS into Canada arrested at border on weapons charge

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers in New York arrested a commercial vehicle driver who tool a wrong turn into Canada for possessing a firearm as a felon.

On November 24, 2024, CBP officers working at the Lewiston Bridge border crossing in Lewiston, New York, encountered a 62 year old commercial vehicle driver.

From CBP:

The driver was attempting to travel to Michigan with a commercial shipment and followed his GPS device inadvertently to the Canadian border but lacked paperwork to travel through Canada. The driver was denied entry into Canada and returned to the United States where upon initial examination he declared a firearm and was subsequently escorted for a secondary examination.

During the secondary examination, officers located the Hi-Point C9 semi-automatic 9mm pistol along with forty rounds of 9mm ammunition. It was determined that the driver, who currently resides in the state of Louisiana, unlawfully possessed the firearm due to prior felony convictions prohibiting possession of firearms.

The truck driver was arrested by CBP and then handed over to the New York State Police for a  felony charge for criminal possession of a weapon.

“Our CBP Officers maintain their vigilance while screening travelers entering the United States,” said Area Port Director Gaetano Cordone. “Together with our State and Local partners, we were successful in arresting this felon and removing a firearm off our streets.”