CORNWALL -- Canada Border Services Agency officers nabbed a man on Tuesday facing contraband tobacco charges after 2,500 bags of cigarettes were found hidden under a false trailer flatbed.
When a blue pickup truck with a seemingly empty flatbed trailer pulled up to a primary inspection booth at the Cornwall port of entry, border services officers decided to send it the secondary inspection area on the east side of Brookdale Avenue.
During the follow-up inspection, the officers discovered 50 cardboard boxes containing 2,500 resealable bags of contraband cigarettes hidden below the floor of the trailer.
That's a total of 500,000 cigarettes.
The driver, a 39-year-old Akwesasne, Ont. man, has been turned over to the Cornwall Regional Task Force and faces a charge for possession of unstamped tobacco under Section 32 of the Excise Act 2001.
He also faces a similar charge under the Tobacco Tax Act.
The 13-metre Blair trailer and the 2005 Chevrolet C4500 Duramax Diesel truck used to haul the contraband cigarettes have both been seized.
The accused will appear in court on Sept. 28.
Anyone with information about suspicious cross-border activity is encouraged to call the CBSA Border Watch toll-free line at 1-888-502-9060.