Nova Scotia man fined $292K after officials seize 226,000 cigarettes

A 52-year-old man from Nova Scotia has pleaded guilty in a New Brunswick court to charges of transporting unstamped tobacco products.

The charges stem from a June 6, 2018, incident in Edmunston, N.B.

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Enforcement officers with New Brunswick’s Department of Public Safety reportedly searched a pickup truck and found 226,381 unstamped cigarettes — which the province says has a provincial tax value of $57,722.

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As a result, the officers arrested John David Dukeshire, 52, of Princedale, N.S., and charged him under two sections of the Tobacco Tax Act.

Under the province’s Tobacco Tax Act, it’s an offence to possess tobacco where taxes have not been paid. The minimum fine for that offence is $2,000 plus an additional fine five times the value of the payable tax.

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It’s also an offence to possess more than five cartons or 1,000 cigarettes. The minimum fine for that offence is $2,000.

Dukeshire pleaded guilty to the charges on Jan. 22, and was sentenced to pay $292,862 in fines.