A 43-year-old man from courtice is facing a minimum fine of $2.8 million if convicted in one of the largest contraband cigarette seizures in eastern Ontario after police pulled over his vehicle near Brockville.
Police say they seized nearly $1.9 million in illegal cigarettes from the tractor-trailer travelling west on Highway 401 near early yesterday morning.
"This is the largest one the Kingston RCMP has ever seen," said Sgt. Dan Somers of the local RCMP detachment.
"The contraband cigarette business is definitely picking up, it seems."
Police nabbed a tractor-trailer carrying 1,700 cases of re-sealable bags of illegal cigarettes. Police say the contraband cigarettes were manufactured in the U. S. and bound for the Canadian black market.
The driver was arrested and charged with possession of a tobacco product not properly stamped according to the Excise Act. He was released to appear at Brockville court.
He's also expected to be charged with
impaired driving and other traffic violations.
Police did not release his name. The seizure was made after police
followed the vehicle and motorist for suspicious activities. It followed a joint investigation by officers from the Kingston and Cornwall RCMP, Prescott and Brockville OPP detachments and the Canadian Border Security Agency from Cornwall.
The RCMP also seized a tractor and trailer with an estimated value of over $50,000. The vehicle is registered to a trucking company in the Cornwall area.
The seizure follows a string of other busts in eastern Ontario involving contraband cigarettes as police are trying to crack down on the crime. Under the Excise Act, the driver faces a minimum fine of $2,805,000.
Earlier this week, police seized nearly 3,000 kilograms of tobacco worth an estimated $250,000, which they believed was smuggled from the U. S.
A 46-year-old man from Cornwall was charged with possessing illegal tobacco and traffic offences.