Toronto police officers were able to seize firearms, stun guns disguised as cellphones and tear gas canisters passed off as lipstick tubes thanks to observant customs officials in Vancouver.
At a news conference Wednesday, police said they found an arsenal of restricted weapons in an east-end apartment suite after Canada Border Services Agency officers intercepted a shipment of stun guns at Vancouver's airport.
The package, shipped from somewhere in Asia and destined for an address in Toronto, led investigators to an apartment complex on Dawes Road, near Danforth Avenue, on Nov. 10.
In all, officers have seized weapons including a TEC-9 submachine gun, Cobra nine-millimetre handgun, 100 stun guns disguised as cellphones, brass knuckles and 136 canisters of tear gas designed to look like tubes of lipstick.
The submachine gun was found in the Dawes Road apartment suite, police said.
Police showed off some of the weapons at a news conference Wednesday.
Meanwhile, a woman is in custody and a man is being sought for allegedly importing and trafficking the weapons.
Police said Muna El Badri, 23, is charged with 185 offences, including importing or exporting a prohibited weapon knowing it is unauthorized, and possessing a prohibited weapon for the purpose of trafficking.
A warrant has been issued for 30-year-old Keri McKnight, who is charged with 275 offences.
McKnight is considered armed and dangerous, and is believed to be in the Greater Toronto Area, police said.
Anyone with information about the investigation or McKnight's whereabouts is asked to call police at 416-808-5400 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477).
This year, CBSA officers have intercepted 414 inbound shipments containing restricted weapons. Most were destined for Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver.
With a report from CTV Toronto's Ashley Rowe
