A Nanaimo man will spend five years in prison, less time served, after being convicted of drug and firearms charges following an investigation by the Canada Border Services Agency.
According to a press release Monday, May 26, the investigation was triggered after three firearm suppressors were intercepted by border services officers at Vancouver International Airport between in the summer and fall of 2022.
In May 2023, CBSA criminal investigators, with assistance from the Vancouver Island District RCMP emergency response team, executed search warrants on a residence and two vehicles in Nanaimo. Those searches, the release noted, turned up restricted weapons that included two 9-millimetre ghost guns, a loaded prohibited shotgun, nine over-capacity magazines, a 9mm rifle with readily accessible ammunition, plus two non-restricted rifles.
The searches also turned up 119 grams of methamphetamine, 335 grams of cocaine, 15 grams of MDMA, 10 grams of psilocybin and 22 electronic devices.
On May 15, 2024, Cody Edward Ranger of Nanaimo was charged with multiple firearm and drug possession offences and on May 21, 2025, he was sentenced to five years in prison, less time served, plus a lifelong firearms prohibition after he pleaded guilty in provincial court in Nanaimo to one count of possession for the purpose of trafficking and two counts of unauthorized possession of a loaded prohibited firearm.
"The Canada Border Services Agency is committed to keeping illegal drugs and prohibited firearms out of our country and away from our communities," said Nina Patel, the CBSA's Pacific regional director general, in the release. “Our officers and criminal investigators work diligently to secure the border and ensure that those who break the law are held accountable."
