Man from the southeast Manitoba sentenced to prison for 3D printing firearms

A southeastern Manitoba man is heading to prison after pleading guilty to firearms charges, following the discovery of 3D-printed printed guns at his home last year, the Canada Border Services Agency says.

In a Steinbach courtroom on Nov. 3, Ryan Buhler, 35, pleaded guilty to manufacturing and possession of unauthorized firearms, after he was arrested on a number of charges last December, the Border Services Agency said in a Tuesday news release.

In September 2021, CBSA intercepted a suspicious package in Mississauga, Ont., which was addressed to southeastern Manitoba, the agency said earlier this year.

A closer examination of the package — labelled as furniture brackets — found it contained unauthorized firearm components used to assemble a 3D-printed pistol, known as a “ghost gun,” the agency said.

Border Services criminal investigators began an investigation in Winnipeg and, with the assistance of RCMP searched a Hanover residence on December 16, 2021.

Two 3D-printed Glock-type pistols, a 3D printer, three non-restricted firearms, digital devices and a personal amount of ammunition were found in the search, CBSA said.

Buhler was arrested and charged with several offences. After a plea agreement, Buhler pleaded guilty and was sentenced to one count each of unauthorized gun manufacturing and unauthorized firearm possession.

He was sentenced for three years on his first charge and two for the second. Both sentences will be served concurrently.

So-called “ghost guns” are a serious and growing risk that the CBSA and other law enforcement agencies are working to address, Minister of Public Safety Marco Mendicino said in Tuesday’s release.

According to the agency, Border Services officers in Canada seized 1,122 firearms in 2021. This is more than twice the number seized in 2020.