Second World War rifle missing after shipping snafu

Licensed Thornhill gun owner bought Japanese weapon from U.S. auction site but postal officials are drawing a blank

- CALVI LEON

Somewhere in the bowels of a Canada Post sorting facility in Toronto, authorities believe, is one of the deadliest rifles from the Second World War. Lost.

“It’s vanished,” said Jerry Jin, a Thornhill resident who bought the Type 99 Japanese military rifle from an auction site in the United States.

Jin, a licensed gun owner, said he saw the gun online and realized its historical significance. It was likely picked up on the battlefield, kept by a collector for 80-plus years and offered for sale.

As a mechanical engineering student, Jin said he’s interested in the mechanisms of firearms used in both world wars and wants to preserve their unique design for future generations.

Jin used a U.S.-based gun shipping service to export the rifle to Canada about two months ago. It arrived at the company’s warehouse in Edmonton. Then, Canada Post took over the domestic shipping, transporting the package from Alberta to Toronto. But the rifle never arrived at Jin’s house as expected.

Inside the package, there is the firearm, a bayonet and other accessories. Jin said the total value is $3,847.

Police, postal officials, nobody knows where the rifle is.

“I feel like this is a huge public safety concern, and I have an obligation to inform the public,” Jin told the Star. His local police service, York Regional Police, said there was nothing to indicate the rifle had left the Canada Post facility; “Therefore, we do not believe there is a threat to public safety.”