The RCMP say they will be working with law enforcement agencies at all levels this summer in an attempt to curb the flow of illegal cigarettes crossing the Canada-U. S. border.
Details have been released in relation to a blitz that occurred at the beginning of the month leading to six arrests and the seizure of close to 2 million cigarettes and over 690 kilograms of fresh-cut tobacco.
"We've had operations that involved several law enforcement agencies over the past few weeks," said Sgt. Michael Harvey of the RCMP.
"We have more leverage when we work together, and that leads to an increase of seizures."
The blitz, which occurred between June 3 and 5, included a partnership between the RCMP and the OPP, the Cornwall Community Police, the Akwesasne Mohawk Police Service, the Canada Border Services Agency and the Ontario Ministry of Revenue.
Eleven seizures were made altogether, for a total of $298,861 worth of cigarettes, loose tobacco, and vehicles.
Harvey said the June blitz was one of three the RCMP has organized already this year, adding that they plan on continuing the practice regularly throughout the summer in hopes of gathering the evidence they need to stop the problem at its source.
"Everyone we stop or arrest is a piece of a puzzle," he said.
"We pass on all the criminal intelligence to our analysts and they're able to fit all the pieces of the puzzle together, and then feed that to the investigators that are doing the longer-term investigations that are shutting down these organized crime groups."
Harvey said each agency they work with has its own distinct role to play in a successful operation, including the community police services that work on the front lines, the federal agencies who make the arrests, and the provincial support that adds the extra muscle.
"The great thing about working with the Ontario Ministry is that they are then able to further charge these offenders under the Tobacco Tax Act, which is a provincial charge," he said.
"Not only are they charged federally by the RCMP, but they now have a provincial charge to contend with as well."
As far as how much a three-day blitz can help defeat the over-all problem of contraband cigarette smuggling, Harvey said the RCMP celebrates its successes, but remains realistic.
"It does have an impact because some operations only operate at certain times," he said.
"One or two operations who chose to operate on those days would have seen a significant hit to their supplies, but the overall (picture) continues to be a large one, and we'll of course be doing everything we can to make it as difficult as possible for contraband of any kind to cross our border."