Overview

• Benito Schiavone, 33, and Modesto Dino Schiavone, 57, were formally charged on July 15 with offences under the Customs Act, Criminal Code and Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.
• They face a combined 22 counts including smuggling prohibited devices, unauthorized importation, manufacturing prohibited firearms, unauthorized possession, careless storage and possession of Schedule I substances.
• A May 29 search of their London home yielded homemade handguns, firearm parts, a 3D printer, 35 g of cocaine, 24.5 g of carfentanil, oxycodone and boric acid.
• The investigation by CBSA’s Ontario Firearms Smuggling Enforcement Team, aided by the London Police Service Emergency Response Unit, began after October 2024 mail interceptions in Mississauga uncovered a silencer from China and a 50-round drum magazine from the U.S.
• Court appearances are scheduled later this month as CBSA steps up efforts to secure international mail channels against hybrid threats combining improvised weapons fabrication and high-potency narcotics.