Nov 29, 2007
(South Stormont, Ontario) On November 23rd , 2006, at 6:30 p.m., law enforcement officers from the Central St. Lawrence Valley RCMP Detachment, the Canada Border Service Agency and the Ontario Provincial Police stopped a 1996 Chevrolet Lumina vehicle on Black River Road off of County Road 18 in South Stormont, Ontario. Officers located boxes of contraband cigarettes on board the vehicle. The driver was arrested and escorted to the RCMP Detachment where he was questioned and released. Officers also seized the smuggling vehicle and the contraband cigarettes.
Located in the vehicle were 1,000 re-sealable bags of contraband cigarettes containing 200 cigarettes in each bag. The 20 year old male driver, a resident of Elm Street in Ingleside, Ontario, 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). The registered owner of the vehicle is an auto sale dealer located on Pitt Street in Cornwall, Ontario.
The RCMP will continue to monitor the illegal movement of tobacco, whether domestically or cross-border, and will take the appropriate enforcement actions and measures. The penalties for illegally selling tobacco products in Canada include: For selling contraband tobacco products (Section 32): A criminal record and fine of between $0.16 to $0.24 per cigarette ($1,600 - $2,400/ case) and/or up to 5 years imprisonment.
-30-
Sgt. Michael Harvey
(613)937-2800 Ext. 293
Central St. Lawrence Valley RCMP Detachment