‘Suspicious package’ closes Blaine border crossing

BLAINE, Wash. – Canadian border agents found at least one “suspicious package” Tuesday night in a northbound vehicle and closed the Peace Arch border crossing while they investigated, a Canadian spokeswoman said.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police explosives squad was summoned, said Paula Shore, spokeswoman for the Canada Border Services Agency.

Northbound and southbound cross-border traffic was diverted less than a mile to the east to the Pacific Highway crossing, said Shore and Mike Milne, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesman.

Shore was unable to say what the package or packages contained or precisely why the vehicle’s driver drew the attention of Canadian border agents.

“The driver was interviewed by border services officers, who were suspicious,” she said. “They did a further search and found one or more than one suspicious package.

“We take safety and security very seriously,” Shore said.

Shore said she did not know whether the driver was a man or a woman and could not say whether that person was under arrest. She also could not say precisely how many packages were involved. The vehicle was a passenger car, she said.

“Our border services officers are trained to look for inconsistencies,” she added. “It’s never just one thing that makes them want to take another look at someone.”

The vehicle had crossed into Canada at the Peace Arch crossing about 9:30 p.m., she said.

The RCMP and the Washington State Patrol were diverting border traffic.