Prosecutions and Seizures

Greater Toronto Region

CBSA arrests two for suspected child pornography at Toronto Pearson International Airport

Mississauga, Ontario, March 26, 2013 – Today the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) announced the arrests of two travellers for smuggling suspected child pornography at Toronto Pearson International Airport.

During regular inspections of travellers returning to Canada from Asia, officers seized external hard drives, USB keys, and other electronic devices containing photographic images of suspected child pornography.

On February 25, 2013, a traveller arriving on a flight from Taiwan was referred for secondary examination. After a progressive review of the contents of the travellers' electronic devices, officers found him to be in possession of several USB keys, memory cards and an external hard drive containing hundreds of gigabytes of suspected child exploitation. 

In a separate incident on March 1, 2013, officers referred a traveller arriving from China for further inspection. The traveller's laptop and accompanying electronic devices were examined, and officers discovered encrypted files of explicit sexual material involving children.

Both men were arrested for smuggling and turned over to Peel Regional Police, along with the seized evidence. Peel Regional Police charged both travellers under the Criminal Code for possession of child pornography.

"We are committed to keeping this type of material out of our country and our communities, and these seizures reaffirm our role at the border to prevent the exploitation of children in Canada and around the world," said Goran Vragovic, the CBSA's Regional Director General in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) Region.

Since January 1, officers in the GTA Region have made eight seizures of goods containing child exploitation images.

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For media information

GTA Media Relations
Canada Border Services Agency
905-803-2800

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