Prosecutions and Seizures

Pacific Region

Aldergrove man sentenced for using false identity to enter Canada

Vancouver, British Columbia, April 8, 2013 – The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) announced today that Tyson Saviro Santolla pled guilty in Richmond Provincial Court to using someone else’s passport to enter Canada. On March 26, 2013 Santolla plead guilty in Richmond Provincial Court and was sentenced to six months of incarceration (time served).

On July 11, 2012, Santolla arrived at the Vancouver International Airport on a flight from Australia and presented border services officers with a passport belonging to his twin brother.

CBSA officials had been alerted by Australian authorities that Santolla, who was out on bail for a drug smuggling charge in that country, might attempt to evade the law and return to Vancouver. Through investigations, they found that Santolla’s twin brother had flown out of Australia, but there was no record of his re-entry.

Border services officers arrested Santolla on arrival. The next day the CBSA’s Criminal Investigations Division swore charges against Santolla for possessing a passport to establish a person’s identity, a contravention of s.122(1)(a) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA).

The CBSA Criminal Investigations Division is responsible for supporting the CBSA’s public safety and economic prosperity objectives by investigating and prosecuting those who commit criminal offences against Canada’s border legislation. The Division handles investigations such as contraventions under the Customs Act for the fraudulent importation and exportation of goods, and under the IRPA for persons unlawfully entering Canada. As well, the Division investigates contraventions under various statutes related to the illegal importation of food, plants and animals.

In 2012, the CBSA Pacific Region Criminal Investigations Division concluded files that resulted in court-imposed jail sentences totaling 5,057 days, court-imposed criminal fines of $294,532 and numerous other sentences including community service and probation. In addition the Division assessed an additional $44,617 in civil fines and seized 10,434 litres of spirits.

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For media information

Faith St John
Communications Advisor, Pacific Region
604-666-5492