Manitoba authorities seize half a million illegal smokes, cigars

A traffic stop on a rural Manitoba road netted authorities 470,000 illegal cigarettes and 2,000 cigars.

RCMP said they stopped two vehicles on PR 207 Sunday and searched them. There, they found tobacco products headed for Winnipeg that were not marked for Manitoba tax purposes. They also found more than $3,000 in cash.

The total loss in tax revenue would have been $139,365, said the province’s Taxation Special Investigations Unit. When people are convicted of trafficking illegal tobacco products, they face a mandatory triple fine. In this case, it would be more than $418,000.

Ross Livingston, 66, and Ernest Delaronde, 49, of Winnipeg face trafficking charges.

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