Content created:2006-10-20

(Cornwall, Ontario) On October 14th, 2006, at 11:24 a.m., police officers from the Central St. Lawrence Valley RCMP Detachment- Cornwall Office, Canada Border Services Agency and the Cornwall Community Police Services stopped a van in Cornwall, Ontario as a result of a drug investigation. Officers located 240 pounds of Marihuana in the rear of the van. The driver of the van was arrested and the officers are continuing the investigation.

Shortly after midnight on October 17th, 2006, police officers from the Akwesasne Mohawk Police Services observed a driver of a 1997 Chevrolet Venture van who failed to stop at a stop sign in Akwesasne, Ontario. The officers pursued the van into the City of Cornwall, where, with the assistance of officers from the Cornwall Community Police Services, the van was eventually stopped at the intersection of Riverdale and Grant Avenues on the lawn of a private residence. Sean Michael Finnerty, the 28 year old male driver who resides in Cornwall, Ontario, was arrested by the Akwesasne Mohawk Police Services for various driving offences. Officers noticed cases of illegal contraband cigarettes in the front passenger seat of the van and loose re-sealable bags of cigarettes and cases covered by a blanket in the rear cargo area of the van. The Cental St. Lawrence Valley RCMP Detachment was contacted and officers seized 1,600 re-sealable bags of contraband cigarettes and seized the smuggling van. Sean Finnerty was also arrested and charged 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). Sean Finnerty was arrested and charged for the same offence in July 2006. He was held for a Bail Hearing. The van is owned by a Chevrolet dealership from Ile-Perrot, Quebec.

At 1:30 a.m., on October 17th, 2006, a 2004 Pontiac GTO driven by a 25 year old male resident of St. Regis, Quebec, approached the Canada Border Services Agency inspection point at the Port of Entry in Cornwall, Ontario. When the driver was asked for identification, he advised that he did not have any, and then officers noticed the driver had a lump in his front pocket. The driver was asked to empty his pockets, and upon doing so, he pulled out two clear plastic baggies containing 136 pills. The driver was detained by Canada Border Service Agency officers and the RCMP was contacted. Officers from the Central St. Lawrence Valley RCMP Detachment arrested the driver under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act for possession of a controlled and/or prohibited substance for the purpose of trafficking. The investigation is on going and the driver is to appear in court on December 4th, 2006.

These seizures can be attributed to the hard work and combined efforts of the many law enforcement agencies who work together in the Central St. Lawrence Valley Regional Task Force to keep the streets and homes of its citizens safe. The geographic location of Cornwall, with its proximity to major cities on both sides of the border, make it an area for organized crime groups to move their illegal commodities. The RCMP and its law enforcement partners along with municipal, provincial, territorial and federal governments are working hard to combat organized crime.

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Sgt. Michael Harvey
(613)937-2800 Ext. 293
Central St. Lawrence Valley RCMP Detachment