Buffalo, N.Y. – U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Field Operations announced the seizure of 22 pounds of marijuana and three federal arrests in separate cases over a busy weekend.
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This
past weekend proved to be a busy one for Customs and Border Protection
officers working the border crossings in the Buffalo/ Niagara region.
The first arrest occurred early Saturday morning when officers
encountered a 30-year-old Canadian citizen as he applied for admission
into the United States at the Lewiston Bridge border crossing. A primary
name query of the presented document revealed an active warrant in
Canada. During a secondary inspection, CBP officers queried the
subject’s fingerprints, which resulted in the discovery of a record
indicating the prints were not those of the subject listed in the
presented passport, but rather belonged to Dominic Akyinah, a Canadian
citizen who had been previously denied entry into the US. When
confronted with the evidence discovered by CBP, Akyinah admitted that he
was not the lawful owner of the presented document and that it belonged
to his brother. He further advised that he attempted to use his
brother’s passport because he knew he was inadmissible and wanted to
attend his uncle’s wedding in New York City. Akyinah was arrested and
charged with misuse of a passport and false statements.
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Later
on Saturday, CBP officers encountered Daryll Hackshaw, a 33-year-old
citizen from St. Vincent and the Grenadines with lawful resident status
in Canada, as he applied for admission into the United States. Mr.
Hackshaw made a negative declaration and claimed that he was en route to
New York City to visit his mother. Mr. Hackshaw was referred to CBP for
a secondary inspection. During the course of the inspection, it was
determined that Mr. Hackshaw’s vehicle, a Nissan Skyline, was recently
registered in Canada and only for duration of nine days. The vehicle is a
right-hand drive vehicle, which is illegal to import into the United
States. Right hand steering vehicles are restricted because they are not
manufactured to meet Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS).
The right hand drive vehicles from Japan are non-conforming to US
standards. When confronted with the evidence, Mr. Hackshaw admitted that
his true intent was to illegally import the vehicle into the United
States and sell it to a dealer in New York City. Mr. Hackshaw was
arrested for illegal importation of merchandise.
Finally
on Sunday, officers working at the Peace Bridge border crossing
encountered Vasile Mina a 37-year-old Canadian citizen from Newmarket,
Ontario. Mr. Mina was the operator of a commercial vehicle containing
brass fittings en route to Rhode Island. During a secondary inspection,
CBP officers discovered two boxes of marijuana comingled within the
legitimate commodity. The boxes were found to contain 22 pounds of
marijuana with an estimated street value of $65,000. Mr. Mina was
arrested on federal charges of importation and possession with the
intent to distribute a controlled substance.
All
subjects arrested over the weekend were turned over to agents from
Homeland Security Investigations for further investigation and
prosecution by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of
New York.
U.S. Customs and Border
Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of
Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of
our nation's borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is
charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the
country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.
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