There are no safeguards in Canadian firearms legislation to prevent people from purchasing a large number of handguns and then illegally transferring them to potential criminals.

It’s an area of the law that gun control advocates say needs to be strengthened, and was recently highlighted after a Toronto man was sent to prison for legally purchasing 47 handguns from two stores over five months and then illegally transferring 43 of them to an acquaintance, who acted as a middleman for other individuals.

Seven of those guns ended up at crime scenes; 30 have yet to be recovered.

Andrew Winchester, a 25-year-old former security guard and father of two sons with no prior criminal record, pled guilty to dozens of gun trafficking charges and was sentenced to eight years in prison on April 25, with credit for time already served in custody since his arrest in November 2012.

In his decision, Superior Court Justice Ian Nordheimer wrote that Winchester, then 23, used his restricted firearms licence obtained by working at Garda Security to purchase the handguns between June and November 2012 on behalf of an old high school friend.

He spent $30,000 on Berettas, Walthers and Glocks and 48 boxes of ammunition with funds provided by the friend, and received $14,000 for his services. Nordheimer found that he primarily committed his actions not out of greed, but because he had a “very much misplaced sense” of loyalty toward his friend, who had apparently protected him from bullies at school.

The 47 firearms were registered with the RCMP’s Canadian Firearms Program. Although the long-gun registry was abolished in 2012, gun owners are still required to register “restricted” firearms such as handguns.

Nordheimer wrote that he was dumbfounded that Winchester, who expressed remorse in court, and his acquaintance were able to carry on the scheme for so long without any detection by police.

They were only caught after some of the handguns, with their serial numbers partially removed, were recovered at crime scenes including a home invasion and a domestic incident. The guns were traced back to Winchester (who was not involved in the crimes).

“We have the very serious and disturbing reality that because of Mr. Winchester’s actions, a large number of dangerous weapons are out in the public undoubtedly in the hands of individuals who may use them for criminal purposes and who may, in doing so, harm entirely innocent persons,” wrote Nordheimer.

Winchester’s lawyer, Emily Lam, declined to comment. His former employer, GardaWorld, as well as the RCMP, did not return requests for comment.

Ontario’s chief firearms officer, Supt. Chris Wyatt, described the Winchester case as an anomaly. Under the Firearms Act, a restricted firearms licensee can purchase as many handguns as they wish without raising red flags as long as they have not come into contact with police and they confirm the purpose for the purchase.

The most common reasons granted by legislation are for target shooting or for a collection, but someone can also purchase guns if required for their profession. It’s unclear which purpose or purposes Winchester used. Wyatt said the information collected is shared between his office and the RCMP.

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Wyatt’s office has tried since early 2013 to crack down on so-called “high-volume buyers” as a direct result of Winchester and the case of another individual. They have begun taking advantage of a clause in the legislation that allows police to inspect, with notice, the collection of people who own 10 or more guns.

Clauses like that are rarely used across the country, which makes gun control more difficult, said Wendy Cukier, president of the Coalition for Gun Control.

“Of course you could have restrictions on how many firearms someone could purchase, of course you could take advantage of the inspection provisions that already exist,” she said, “but what we’ve seen in recent years is an erosion of the legislation and its enforcement,” under the current federal government.