CORNWALL, Ontario – Police have seized more than $175,000 in contraband tobacco, likely leaving some would-be smugglers fuming at the loss.
During the early morning hours of June 2 members of the Cornwall Regional Task Force (CRTF) working in partnership with members from Valleyfield RCMP and Sûreté du Quebec observed two boats traveling east on the St. Lawrence River at a high rate of speed.
Both vessels were occupied with an unknown number of occupants. The boats landed ashore in the Rivière-Beaudette, Que. area.
As officers converged on the shoreline to investigate, they observed that the contraband had been strewn on shore and the vessels, with their occupants, had fled.
During the investigation, 126 bags of contraband fine cut tobacco weighing a total of 1,948 kg was seized. This investigation is still ongoing.
“We often get asked by the public what the value is of these types of contraband seizures,” said Const. Jean Juneau, Media Relations Officer with the CRTF. “The estimated value of this particular seizure surpasses $175,000. As you can well imagine, this seizure is a significant loss for whoever organized and paid for the product they never received.”
The CRTF is a joint forces partnership that includes the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Ontario Provincial Police, and the Ontario Ministry of Finance.
