WINNIPEG — The Manitoba Finance Special Investigations Unit and RCMP have caught another huge haul of contraband smokes.
They seized more than 858,000 cigarettes that weren’t marked or stamped for tax purposes in a truck and trailer near Deacons Corner just east of Winnipeg on Friday.
“If these would have hit the black market on the street, Manitoba would have lost about $250,000 in taxes,” said David Couprie, of the Manitoba Finance SIU. “We would suspect these were bound for the inner city of Winnipeg to be sold on the streets.”
“A long-standing issue has been the sale of cigarettes that are produced on First Nation reserves, particularly in Ontario and Quebec, and so that has been filtered out into other provinces. Manitoba as also been affected by that,” said Murray Gibson, executive director of Manitoba Tobacco Reduction Alliance Inc.
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With Tuesday’s federal budget tax increasing cigarette cartons by $4, the demand for cheaper black-market smokes and crime could go up, officials said.
“Tobacco contraband is also related to armed trafficking, smuggling, as well as organized crime and gangs,” said federal Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney.
“Now with the sky-high prices, it’s going to be an incentive to smuggle — it’s going to be rewarding. They’ve got to make sure some money flows to law enforcement,” said federal NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair.
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The federal government has promised a new $90-million anti-contraband budget for the RCMP.
“It won’t help us as a province. That’s money that’s going to go to federal enforcement,” said Couprie.
A 67-year-old man and a 32-year-old man, both from Fort Alexander, face charges under the Manitoba Tobacco Tax Act that carry fines of $1,000 to $10,000 and/or up to six months in jail, and a triple tax penalty of $747,156. They may also be charged under the federal Excise Act.
Contamination and health issues are also a concern because a mouse nest was found in one box, officials said.
All 858,000 cigarettes will be destroyed after the court process is complete.
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