Police in Surrey, B.C., say they have arrested the driver of a stolen vehicle with Washington state licence plates who failed to stop at the Pacific Highway border crossing Sunday.
The Surrey Police Service (SPS) says the Canada Border Services Agency flagged a white Ford pickup truck that went through the border without stopping for inspection around 8:45 a.m. PT.
The truck was spotted a short time later on King George Boulevard “driving erratically” and veering into oncoming traffic, according to police.
Officers with the SPS and RCMP quickly took the driver into custody, about 14 minutes after being notified of the border breach, SPS media liaison officer Ian MacDonald told CBC News.
Police say the man, who was alone in the vehicle, was arrested, and an unspecified number of vehicles were damaged — but no one was injured.
MacDonald said the driver is a 33-year-old man with no legal status in Canada, and that the vehicle had been stolen from Blaine, Wash.
He said vehicle breaches at the border are rare, and people more often attempt to cross by foot.
As for the suspect, MacDonald said the plan is to transfer custody of him to the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) for further investigation in collaboration with U.S. law enforcement partners.
In a statement, the CBSA confirmed a vehicle failed to stop at the border’s primary inspection booth Sunday morning. It emphasized that doing so is a serious offence that can result in penalties or charges.
CBC News has reached out to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection for comment.
The investigation is ongoing, and police have not released the name of the suspect.
Anyone with information or video footage of the incident is asked to contact the Surrey Police Service or Crime Stoppers.