WINNIPEG — More than 100,000 contraband cigarettes were seized and six men arrested over a 10-day period in November.
The men are facing charges, fines and possible jail time after Falcon Lake RCMP and Manitoba Finance investigators seized 112,600 contraband cigarettes and 200 grams of fine-cut tobacco.
The seizures occurred during a 10-day investigation in November. The men were travelling to Manitoba from Ontario, and one man was charged twice in two days, police said.
On Nov. 8, police nabbed 138 cartons from the 49-year-old man, and the very next day, another 47, they said.
A total of 473 cartons were seized from the six men, which adds up to $27,434 in possible lost tax revenue, an RCMP news release said. Based on the amount of tobacco, each man is liable to a triple tax penalty — a combined total of $82,302.
In a second investigation in Winnipeg, 14,200 cigarettes — or 71 cartons — were seized from a seventh individual who is facing similar charges. In that case, Manitoba would have lost an additional $4,118 in tax revenue.
A third seizure of 3,800 cigarettes remains under investigation.
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