Canadian intelligence officials visited a Quebec company after an outbreak of sniper rifles in Russia
Canadian intelligence officers have visited a Quebec firearms company after its sniper rifles were found in Russia, according to the company’s president.
The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) met with Cadex Defense regarding Russia’s efforts to evade sanctions, Serge Dextraze told Global News.
The forum came after Global News reported in October that social media posts showed Cadex rifles being sold in Moscow and in the hands of Russian hackers.
While some of the Canadian-made guns appear to have been taken from the Ukrainian forces, others appear to be brand new and still have their brand tags.
Sanctions imposed in response to President Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 have blocked arms exports to Russia.
Based south of Montreal, Cadex supplies military and law enforcement agencies around the world. Dextraze said the company did not export its products to Russia.
CSIS said it was working with manufacturers and exporters to prevent Russia from buying Canadian goods.
“With increased awareness of this illegal activity, Canadian companies are better empowered to screen customers themselves,” the spokesperson said.
Cadex headquarters south of Montreal.
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CSIS declined to comment further, but its May 1 report said Russia was trying to “illegally obtain controlled and licensed technology from Western countries, including Canada.”
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Russia’s procurement efforts are focused on items needed to “support its military-industrial complex and support its war with Ukraine,” CSIS wrote.
“Specifically, Russia wanted to buy Canadian technology, such as microelectronics, satellite communications technology, and precision weapons.”
The report said CSIS helped Canadian companies to “identify how Canadian goods were sourced and shipped to Russia.”
Dextraze confirmed in a phone call with Global News that CSIS has met with his company several times to discuss this issue.
The intelligence officers “made sure we did everything right,” but also used the visit as an opportunity to help the company, he said.
He said CSIS officials “share their information with people who have security clearances … How can we be aware of things we don’t know?”
“They once gave us help, and the advice they gave us is not allowed to be repeated because it is a big secret,” he said.
“And they told us to keep, in fact, the lowest level of the path that they proposed to us. But at the end of the day, we had good plans.”
“You are dealing with a very large country that if they decide they want to disrupt your economy, they can do it, and they have all the cunning ways to do it,” he added.
While the company’s plans are already “very good … now we’re going to get one step better,” Dextraze said. “Let’s just say it’s behind us now.”
Canada’s Cadex Defense, whose president is seen here with Donald Trump Jr. at the 2019 US gun convention, he sells arms to law enforcement but others turn to Russia.
Russia has faced widespread sanctions since it invaded neighboring Ukraine. The moves are an attempt to isolate Putin and undermine his war efforts.
But American, European and Canadian guns have come from Russia.
In March, a US court found an Italian guilty of a scheme to send ammunition to Kyrgyzstan. From there, it was moved to Russia to support the war in Ukraine.
More than a dozen Cadex rifles are listed on the Moscow gun dealer’s website, which lists them as “in stock” and includes links to “place your order.”
Photos and videos on social media also show Russian hackers, some of whom are said to have killed dozens in Ukraine, firing Cadex rifles.
After Global News reported on the matter last October, Foreign Minister Anita Anand told reporters that she was looking into the matter.
More than six months later, the government has not responded to Global News’ request under the Access to Information Act to release documents related to the investigation.
Asked what the outcome of Anand’s review was, a spokesperson for Global Affairs Canada issued a statement that did not answer the question.
The statement said there have been no “direct shipments of weapons to Russia” from Canada since 2015, and no parts have gone to the country since 2020.
“We know about the large sale of weapons to Ukraine, by Canada and other countries, which may be taken by Russian soldiers on the battlefield,” he said.
Stewart.Bell@globalnews.ca
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