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The Ontario Court of Justice on Monday, July 6, 2020, in Windsor, ON. (Dan Janisse-The Windsor Star) The Windsor Star
Prosecutors are seeking a five-year prison sentence for a weapons collector who improperly stored more than 20 restricted firearms in his Windsor apartment.
Hengwei Zhong, 31, âabused the privilegeâ of his firearms license by leaving his handguns unlocked in his bedroom and by attempting to smuggle handgun parts from the U.S. into Canada, assistant Crown attorney Reem Said told court on Tuesday.
âThe public depends on individuals who have a government-issued firearm license to follow the rules,â Said told Ontario Court Justice Daniel Topp. âAn improper handling or storage of firearms places people at risk and must be denounced by the court.â
Zhong previously pleaded guilty to one federal count of attempting to smuggle prohibited handgun barrels into Canada and eight counts of improper storage of firearms.
According to a summary of facts shared with the Star, CBSA officers seized a parcel at a UPS facility in Windsor on May 8, 2025, that contained two prohibited .38 calibre handgun barrels, a restricted 9 mm calibre semi-automatic handgun barrel and two revolver cylinders. The parcel was addressed to Zhong and had been declared as âauto parts.â
By importing the revolver parts âthe accused was carrying out his intention to convert restricted firearms to prohibited firearms and, therefore, attempted to manufacture a firearm,â the facts stated.
Zhong, a citizen of China, holds a firearm license and has 26 registered firearms, court heard.
Following the seizure of the parcel, CBSA investigators and members of the Windsor Police Emergency Services Unit executed a search warrant at Zhongâs Windsor residence on July 17, 2025.
According to the facts, Zhongâs license required that 22 of his firearms be stored at his Windsor residence, but investigators recovered only 19 when the warrant was executed. The three missing handguns were later recovered at a Windsor shop where Zhong had taken them to be refinished.
The 19 handguns recovered were all found in Zhongâs bedroom, but none of them were stored in a locked container and many were not secured with proper locking devices, the facts stated.
Officers also seized 30 drop-in auto sears, a prohibited device used to convert semi-automatic rifles into fully automatic firearms.
According to a news release last September, CBSA said officers had seized 175 magazines, of which 104 were prohibited, and approximately 17,000 rounds of ammunition at the Windsor home.
At the time of his arrest in 2025, Zhong had been working at Tactical Imports Corp., a Canadian retailer of licensed firearms and tactical equipment, on a post-graduate work permit since 2022. Zhong had arrived in Canada in 2019 for graduate studies at the University of Winsor
âMr. Zhong is not an outlaw or anywhere close to it,â defence lawyer Robert DiPietro Sr. said Tuesday in requesting a monetary penalty of $500 to $1,000 per count in lieu of a sentence behind bars.
DiPietro cited Zhongâs guilty plea and lack of a prior criminal record as mitigating factors.
He added that his clientâs employer describes Zhong as âa firearms collector and fascinated with technical aspects of the firearm (who is) skilled at disassembling and reassembling firearmsâ and a âhardworking, efficient team member who carries his weight.â
Said pushed back against the defenceâs position of imposing a fine, arguing that it âcannot possibly satisfy denunciation or deterrence where the offender is actively obtaining, importing, possessing the tools that would either make the weapons that he had more concealable or convert them from semi-automatic to automatic.â
The 30 auo sears seized by the CBSA create âextraordinary risk for the public safety,â she said. âTheir sole purpose is the rapid discharge of large volumes of ammunition. That inherent danger of a firearm capable of fully automatic fire cannot be considered a mere regulatory offence.â
Zhong apologized when given the opportunity to speak in court.
âI feel really, really sorry for what I did,â he told Justice Topp. âI absolutely had no intention to cause any harm. I never had the intention to sell my firearms.â
Justice Topp is expected to render a sentencing decision in the fall.