Key Takeaways
- A Florida trucker, Erhan John Er, was sentenced to over four years in a U.S. prison for smuggling handguns into Canada.
- The scheme involved legally buying 28 guns in Florida, transporting them up to 2,000 km north, and selling them to an unnamed Canadian trafficker for the gun’s retail price plus a $1,000 fee per weapon.
- Eighteen of the smuggled firearms remain unaccounted for; the recovered guns were linked to crime scenes in Ontario and Quebec, including two homicides.
- All seized weapons had their serial numbers obliterated, a common tactic to evade traceability; investigators restored the numbers to tie the guns back to Er.
- Toronto police reported that 86 % of crime guns seized in the city last year and traced to date originated in the United States, underscoring a steady cross‑border pipeline for illegal firearms.
- Er attempted to acquire higher‑capacity weapons (Century Arms Mini Draco pistols) but the purchase was flagged and blocked; the attempt illustrates smugglers’ efforts to obtain more lethal arms.
- The Canadian co‑conspirator, identified only as “Person‑1,” has not been charged, and the investigation into that individual remains ongoing.
Erhan John Er, a 35‑year‑old former trucker from Florida, pleaded guilty in early 2025 to conspiring to traffic firearms and was subsequently sentenced to more than four years in a U.S. federal prison. The case, uncovered through court documents reviewed by CBC News, reveals a deliberate cross‑border pipeline that moved legally purchased handguns from the United States into Canada, where they were resold and later used in violent crimes.
According to the prosecution, Er bought 28 pistols from licensed firearms dealers in Florida during the summer of 2022. On the federal purchase forms he falsely declared himself the legitimate buyer, a statement later deemed fraudulent. After acquiring the weapons, he drove them north—sometimes as far as 2,000 kilometres—to hand them over to an unnamed Canadian associate, referred to in the plea agreement as “Person‑1.” For each gun, Er received the retail price of the firearm plus an additional $1,000 smuggling fee, a lucrative arrangement that incentivized the repeated trips.
Eighteen of the 28 guns have never been recovered, leaving a substantial cache potentially still in circulation. The ten firearms that were located turned up at crime scenes across Ontario and Quebec, ranging from Thunder Bay to the Greater Toronto Area and extending into Quebec province. Notably, a Glock 45 was seized by Quebec provincial police during a homicide investigation in May 2023, and a Glock 49 was recovered by Hamilton police in connection with the June 30 2024 shooting of Tobenna (Nnanna) Obiaga, a 45‑year‑old father of two who died after being shot in a parked car following a disturbance at a house party.
The most high‑profile incident linked to Er’s smuggling occurred on November 11 2024, when a Glock 27 he had purchased in Naples, Florida, surfaced during a Toronto police investigation of a shootout outside a recording studio. Social‑media video from the event showed several individuals brandishing firearms at a birthday party; a subsequent gunfight erupted, but miraculously no one was killed or injured. Police described the shootout as “reckless” and said it underscored the “real and present danger” posed by illegal firearms flowing across the border.
A defining characteristic of all the seized weapons was the obliteration of their serial numbers. Investigators noted that the numbers had been ground, scraped, or drilled away—a tactic frequently used to hinder tracing efforts. Through painstaking restoration work, authorities were able to recover the original markings and trace each firearm back to Er’s purchases. The effort highlighted the importance of forensic techniques in combating gun‑trafficking networks.
Beyond the recovered pistols, Er demonstrated an ambition to acquire more formidable firepower. In July 2022 he attempted to buy four Century Arms Mini Draco semi‑automatic pistols from a Florida dealer. The Mini Draco, a Romanian‑built platform resembling an AK‑47 and capable of holding a 30‑round magazine, is often glorified in rap music and prized for its high capacity. The transaction was flagged as suspicious by the dealer and ultimately blocked, as noted in Er’s plea agreement. Law‑enforcement agencies in London, Ontario, later displayed a similar Draco‑type firearm, underscoring the type of weapon smugglers seek when attempting to escalate their arsenals.
The investigation remains active regarding Er’s Canadian counterpart. U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe told CBC that the case against “Person‑1” “continues to be under investigation,” and no charges have been laid against that individual as of the latest reports. Ontario Provincial Police spokesperson Angie Sloan affirmed that the agency reviews all incoming evidence and will lay charges when supported by proof.
The case illustrates a broader trend: Toronto police reported that 86 % of crime guns seized in the city last year and successfully traced originated in the United States. This statistic points to a persistent and lucrative smuggling corridor that exploits legal purchase channels in the U.S. to feed violent crime in Canada. Er’s sentencing sends a clear message about the penalties for participating in such networks, but the lingering unaccounted firearms and ongoing investigations suggest that the flow of illegal guns across the border remains a significant challenge for law‑enforcement agencies on both sides.