Canadian national accused of ‘engaging in multi-national arms smuggling’ in East Texas

ANGELINA COUNTY, Texas ( KETK ) — A Canadian national is in custody following an Angelina County traffic stop that led deputies to believe she was "engaging in multi-national arms smuggling."

The Angelina County Sheriff's Office said deputies on patrol on US 59 near the north side of Lufkin witnessed a 2024 Toyota Corolla speeding and conducted a traffic stop on Wednesday evening.

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Officials identified the driver as a "Lyft ride sharing driver from Houston." When speaking to the driver, deputies allegedly smelled a strong odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle and conducted a probable cause search for contraband.

Deputies reportedly located marijuana in the car and two large bags in the trunk. The Lyft customer, later identified as Canadian national Jahtaya O'Day Jah-Kiara Hamilton of Leamington, Ontario, stated the bags belong to her.

When officers opened the bags, a large quantity of handguns with a short barrel rifle, magazines and ammunition were found. Deputies determined there were 20 semi-automatic pistols. The sheriff's office said a number of these pistols were reported stolen out of the Houston area.

"Deputies developed information that indicated the female had flown into Houston, obtained the guns from a currently unknown source and was headed to back to Canada with the Lyft driver taking her as far as Little Rock, Arkansas," the sheriff's office said.

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Angelina County officials said federal authorities are expected to take Hamilton and the guns while the Lyft driver was cited and released.

"The discovery of these stolen weapons has obviously prevented them from falling into the hands of criminals and street gangs. Lives probably have been saved by these guns not finding their way to cites somewhere in the U.S. or Canada," the sheriff's office said. "Illegal arms are valuable commodities and command large sums of money outside the U.S. and pose a clear danger to both civilians and law enforcement officers."

Officials have contacted field agents with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to assist in this investigation.