CBSA spokesperson Luc Nadon told CBC News in an email Thursday that the agency allowed the shipments into Canada relying on the importers description of the BB guns. But Nadon admitted officials didn’t actually inspect the crates as they entered the country.

 

"Most BB guns are exempted from registration and licensing requirement under the Firearms Act and are generally not prohibited from being imported," Nadon wrote. "Regarding the shipment in question … the CBSA assessed the importer's description of the shipment against the RCMP's firearms database [of banned weapons] and found that there was no reason to believe that this shipment was anything other than a normal BB gun. Therefore, the shipment was cleared to enter Canada."