CORNWALL — A routine stop for smuggled cigarettes on Thursday night quickly escalated into a dangerous pursuit across the Quebec border.
Around 11:45 p.m., OPP officers observed two men loading boxes of contraband smokes into a 2001 Ford Windstar at the Cornwall harbour near the old cotton mills.
According to RCMP Sgt. Michael Harvey, the officers tried to stop the vehicle at the harbour, but they fled the scene, nearly running over the police officers in the process.
The suspects headed north on McConnell Avenue before making their way onto the eastbound lanes of Highway 401. Harvey said the OPP pursued the vehicle and set up a "rolling block" on the highway to try and stop the vehicle, but the motorist was successful in getting around that.
The Surete du Quebec then got involved, and they managed to bring the van to a stop after deploying a spike belt on Highway 20 near St-Zotique shortly after midnight.
An OPP vehicle went over the spike belt as well, but Harvey said there were no injuries in the pursuit.
Typically, police don't pursue suspects for contraband cigarettes, however Harvey said in this case, they were also dealing with the dangerous operation of a vehicle.
Officers seized 1,250 resealable bags of contraband cigarettes along with the van.
The 18-year-old driver from Lunenburg faces various Tobacco Tax and Excise Act charges as well as dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, flight from police and driving a motor vehicle without a licence. The 18-year-old passenger from Cornwall also faces Tobacco Tax and Excise Act charges for possession of the contraband cigarettes. Both were released to appear in court at a later date, and their names weren't immediately released by police as the information for the charges have not yet been sworn.
Harvey said the incident is in line with a continuing trend of younger people serving as courriers for contraband tobacco.
"The younger they are, the more brave they are to try and get away," Harvey added.
The incident capped off another busy week for law enforcement agencies in the fight against tobacco smuggling. Between March 19 and 25, the RCMP and various law enforcement agencies conducted several operations in the Cornwall region which lead to the seizure of 4,150 resealable bags of contraband cigarettes, 375 kilograms of fine cut tobacco, and three vehicles. A total of seven people were arrested.