Aug 31, 2007
(Cornwall, Ontario) On August 30th , 2006, at 2:30 a.m., members of the Ontario Provincial Police stopped a 2002 Chevrolet Silverado pick-up truck that was hauling a Road Master trailer on Power Dam Drive in Cornwall, Ontario. After further investigation by the officers, it was revealed that the trailer was loaded with contraband cigarettes. The Central St. Lawrence Valley RCMP detachment was contacted to arrest the driver and passenger and to seize the illegal cigarettes and smuggling vehicles.
Located in the trailer were 18,650 re-sealable bags of white filtered cigarettes as well as 1,000 cartons of DK brand cigarettes. Each bag and carton contains 200 cigarettes and totals 3,930,000 contraband cigarettes seized. The cigarettes sell on the street at $22 per bag or carton. The value of the seized cigarettes is $432,300. The 18 year old male driver, a resident of Point Road in Akwesasne, Ontario as well as the passenger, a 54 year old male resident of St. Regis Road in Hogansburg, New York were arrested and will face charges under section 32(1) of the Excise Act 2001 (unlawful possession of a tobacco product that was not stamped in accordance with the provisions of the Excise Act 2001). This is the second arrest of the driver in the past year and he could face a maximum fine of $943,200 or a jail sentence under the provisions of the Excise Act 2001. The seized truck and trailer are owned by two residents of Akwesasne, Ontario.
This seizure represents a combined effort by all law enforcement agencies in the Central St. Lawrence Valley Regional Task Force who continue to disrupt organized crime groups who use the geography of the Akwesasne Mohawk Territory to move illegal products across our border with the United States. The Federal Government lost $833,946 in unpaid duties and taxes on these illegal cigarettes alone. The profits from these sales are used by the organized crime groups to finance other crimes that affect our communities on a daily basis.
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Sgt. Michael Harvey
(613)937-2800 Ext. 293
Central St. Lawrence Valley RCMP Detachment