Southeastern Manitoba man sentenced to jail time for making 3D-printed firearms

A southeasternManitoba man is heading to prison after pleading guilty to firearmscharges, following the discovery of 3D-printed printed guns at his home last year, theCanada Border Services Agency says.

In a Steinbach courtroom on Nov. 3,Ryan Buhler, 35, pleaded guilty to manufacturing and possession of unauthorized firearms, after he was arrested on a number of charges last December, the Border Services Agency said in a Tuesday news release.

In September 2021, CBSA intercepted a suspicious packagein Mississauga, Ont., which wasaddressed to southeastern Manitoba, the agency said earlier this year.

A closer examination of the package labelled as furniture brackets found it contained unauthorized firearm components used to assemble a 3D-printed pistol, known as a "ghost gun," the agency said.

Border Services criminal investigators in Winnipeg started an investigation, and with the help of RCMP, searched a residence in the rural municipality of Hanover on Dec. 16, 2021.

Two 3D-printed Glock-typepistols, a 3D printer, three non-restricted firearms, digital devices and a personal amount of ammunition were found in the search, CBSA said.

Buhlerwas arrested and charged with several offences. After a plea deal, he pleaded guilty to one count of unauthorized firearm manufacturing, and one count of unauthorized firearm possession.

He was sentenced to three years on the first charge and two years on the second, but those sentences will be served concurrently.

So-called "ghost guns" are a serious and growing risk that theCBSA and other law enforcement agencies areworking to address, Minister of Public Safety Marco Mendicino said in Tuesday's release.

In 2021, Border Services officers across Canada seized 1,122 firearms, more than double the number from 2020, according to the agency.