May 17, 2007
(Valleyfield, Quebec) On May 15th, 2007, at 8:45 p.m., police officers from the Central St. Lawrence Valley RCMP Detachment-Valleyfield Office as well as police officers from the Quebec Provincial Police Contraband Investigative Unit known as Project ACCESS stopped a 2007 GMC Sierra 2500 pick-up truck that had a 2007 Haul Mark trailer attached to it on Highway 20 near Les Cèdres, Quebec. At the same time officers stopped a 2007 Dodge Charger vehicle that was following the pick-up truck and trailer. Subsequent investigation found the Haul Mark trailer was loaded with 5,000 re-sealable bags of Light Flavour cigarettes. This represents 1,000,000 contraband cigarettes that were manufactured in the United States and smuggled into Canada. The value of these cigarettes is $110,000. The RCMP seized the illegal cigarettes as well as the three vehicles and arrested three adult occupants. The total value of the three vehicles is $105,000. The GMC Sierra and the Dodge Charger are rental vehicles from a Montréal rental agency. The Haul Mark Trailer is registered to a 47 year old female resident of Cornwall Island in Akwesasne, Ontario who has a prior criminal record with an offence under the Excise Act.
The driver of the GMC Sierra pick-up truck, 39 year old female resident of Kahnawake, Quebec, will be charged by the RCMP 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. She will also be charged for conspiracy under authority of section 455 of the Criminal Code. She was travelling with two young children. The driver of the Dodge Charger, identified as 23 year old Evita Stacey of 145 Buckshot Road in Akwesasne, Ontario, was also charged with the same offences and was held for a Bail Hearing at the Valleyfield Provincial Court as she had recently been arrested for similar offences. The passenger in the vehicle driven by Stacey, a 48 year old female resident of Kahnawake, Quebec, will also be charged for the same offences. All three individuals will also be charged by the Quebec Provincial Police under authority of the Tobacco Tax Act.
This seizure represents a huge financial loss to the criminal organization responsible for flooding the black market with illegal cigarettes. The fact that there were children on board the smuggling truck shows that there is no concern for children’s safety and is exposing our youth to a culture of criminal activity. The use of brand new vehicles to smuggle illegal cigarettes demonstrates the cash flow these crime groups have to facilitate the transportation of their illegal product. The RCMP and the Quebec Provincial Police are committed to disrupting the supply routes used by organized crime groups and seizing the assets that they obtain from the hard earned money of Canadian citizens.
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Sgt. Michael Harvey
(613)937-2831
Central St. Lawrence Valley RCMP Detachment