INGLESIDE, ON, Nov. 5 /CNW/ - A 29 year old male resident from Cornwall,
Ontario faces a charge under the Excise Act 2001 for possession of a tobacco
product not properly stamped after he was arrested during a vehicle stop by
the Ontario Provincial Police.
On November 1st, 2008, officers stopped a 2001 Ford F150 pick-up truck
speeding on Highway 401 westbound near Ingleside, Ontario. The officer
observed cardboard boxes of contraband cigarettes inside the cargo area of the
pick-up truck and contacted the Cornwall RCMP to assist. RCMP officers seized
1,287 resealable bags of contraband cigarettes which represents 257,400
cigarettes believed to have been manufactured in the United States and
smuggled into Canada. The driver was placed under arrest, it was later
determined that he was also wanted by Cornwall Community Police Service on an
outstanding warrant. The driver will appear in court on the tobacco charges at
the Cornwall court on December 8th, 2008.
"The largest source of illegal tobacco in Canada originates from
manufacturing operations located on Aboriginal Territory based on the United
States side of Akwesasne, in Kahnawake Quebec and Tyendinaga and Six Nations
in Ontario", said Sgt. Michael Harvey of the RCMP. "Not all manufacturing
operations in these communities are illegal, and not all community members
support the illegal operations which may be occurring within their
communities".
For further information: Sgt. Michael Harvey, RCMP Cornwall Detachment,
(613) 937-2831
