May 4, 2007
(Valleyfield, Quebec) In the evening hours of May 2nd, 2007 a joint anti-tobacco smuggling operation was held involving officers from the Central St. Lawrence Valley RCMP Detachment-Valleyfield Office, officers from the Quebec Provincial Police Contraband Investigative Unit known as Project ACCESS and Intelligence Officers from the Canada Border Services Agency. This operation resulted in the arrest of four men and one woman, the seizure of three vehicles and 599,400 contraband cigarettes that were manufactured in the United States and smuggled into Canada. The total value of these seizures is $88,934.
In the first investigation officers stopped a 1997 Ford F-150 pick-up truck at kilometre 24 on Highway 20 eastbound near Les Cèdres, Quebec and found the truck to be loaded with 1,150 re-sealable bags of Light Flavour cigarettes. The driver, a 37 year old male resident of Bedford Street in Cornwall, Ontario and his passenger, an 18 year old male resident of Kingslea Crescent in Cornwall, Ontario were arrested by the Quebec Provincial Police and face charges under authority of Section 13.1 of the Provincial Tobacco Tax Act. The passenger will also be charged by the Quebec Provincial Police for personation with intent under Section 403(a) of the Criminal Code of Canada. The RCMP seized the truck and will charge both men under authority of Section 32(1) of the Excise Act 2001 for possession of a tobacco product that was not properly stamped according to the Excise Act 2001. The truck is registered to a credit company in Anjou, Quebec. This truck was also bearing fictitious license plates.
During the second investigation, officers followed a 2001 Dodge Caravan from Cornwall Island in Akwesasne, Ontario. The Quebec Provincial Police stopped the van at exit 22 on Highway 20 near Les Cèdres, Quebec and found it to be loaded with 597 cartons of Native Lights brand cigarettes. The driver and registered owner of the van, a 48 year old female resident of Albert Street in Cornwall, Ontario and her passenger, a 26 year old male resident of the same address were arrested by the RCMP and will be charged under authority of Section 32(1) of the Excise Act 2001 for possession of a tobacco product that was not properly stamped according to the Excise Act 2001. They will also be charged by the Quebec Provincial Police under Section 13.1 of the Provincial Tobacco Tax Act. The van was seized by the RCMP.
Finally, officers stopped a 1998 GMC Sierra pick-up truck on Highway 540 eastbound near Vaudreuil-Dorion, Quebec and found it to be loaded with 1,200 re-sealable bags of Full Flavour cigarettes and 50 cartons of Native Lights brand cigarettes. The driver, a 47 year old male resident of Guy Street in Cornwall, Ontario was arrested by the RCMP and will be charged under authority of Section 32(1) of the Excise Act 2001 for possession of a tobacco product that was not properly stamped according to the Excise Act 2001. He will also be charged by the Quebec Provincial Police under Section 13.1 of the Provincial Tobacco Tax Act. The vehicle, which is registered to a 37 year old male resident of York Street in Cornwall, Ontario, was seized by the RCMP.
Buying and selling illegal tobacco has other negative consequences for Canadian society. It erodes respect for the law and minimizes the serious consequences of this type of criminal activity. The federal and provincial governments lose millions of dollars in tax revenue, money that could fund social programs, education, employment programs and health care.
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Sgt. Michael Harvey
(613) 937-2831
Central St. Lawrence Valley RCMP Detachment