Travellers carrying illicit drugs and suspected child pornography were among those either arrested or turned back at the local border crossings over the holiday weekend.
Faith St. John, spokesperson for Canada Border Services Agency, said officers identified numerous suspicious individuals over the three days – stand-outs amongst the 120,515 northbound travellers that were processed over the three days.
Among them was a man arrested Canada Day (Friday), after a search of a vehicle occupied by two Alberta residents found 12.2 grams of marijuana in one of the traveller's backpacks.
That same day, three adults were arrested after images and video of suspected child pornography were found on one of the traveller's phones.
A fifth traveller, a U.S. woman, was arrested at the Pacific Highway border and then returned to the U.S. July 1 after suspected marijuana was found during a luggage search.
July 2, officers at the Douglas border arrested two adults after an extensive search of a rented vehicle found an estimated 3.5 kilograms of cocaine stashed in the gas tank.
That same day, officers identified a man with an outstanding warrant for prohibited driving. The man was arrested and held for Surrey RCMP.
Sunday, officers at the Douglas border turned one man over to RCMP and sent two others back to the U.S. after a trio of travellers were deemed impaired by alcohol.
The driver was issued a roadside suspension; the passengers were made to walk back into the U.S.
In all, border officers working the Lower Mainland's four land crossings processed 25 per cent more travellers last weekend than seen on the same weekend last year. Sixty-six of those individuals were deemed inadmissible, St. John said.
