Members of the Manitoba Finance Taxation Special Investigations Unit and RCMP officers seized 112,600 contraband cigarettes and 200 grams of fine-cut tobacco over a 10-day period in November.
In a collaborative investigation, Manitoba Finance investigators and officers from the Falcon Lake RCMP detachment conducted checks of six vehicles entering Manitoba from Ontario. This led to the confiscation of 473 cartons of cigarettes not marked for tax purposes in Manitoba.
Six adult males face charges under the Tobacco Tax Act and the Tax Administration and Miscellaneous Taxes Act. One individual was charged twice in two days.
- On Nov. 8, Manitoba Finance investigators, with the assistance of officers from the Falcon Lake RCMP, seized 138 cartons from a 49-year-old male.
- On Nov. 9, officers from the Falcon Lake RCMP seized 47 cartons from the same 49-year-old male.
- On Nov. 8, Manitoba Finance investigators, with the assistance of officers from the Falcon Lake RCMP, seized 56 cartons from a 41-year-old male.
- On Nov. 14, officers from the Falcon Lake RCMP seized 175 cartons from a 52-year-old male.
- On Nov. 16, Manitoba Finance investigators, with the assistance of officers from the Falcon Lake RCMP, seized 27 cartons and one bag of fine-cut tobacco from a 58-year-old male and a 59-year-old male.
- On Nov. 16, Manitoba Finance investigators with the assistance of officers from the Falcon Lake RCMP seized 30 cartons from a 40-year-old male.
The accused each face fines of $1,000 to $10,000 and/or up to six months in jail. Each of the accused is liable to a triple tax penalty based on the amount of tobacco seized, for a combined total of $82,302. Manitoba stood to lose $27,434 in tax revenue had these cigarettes reached the black market.
In a second investigation, taxation investigators seized 14,200 cigarettes (71 cartons) in Winnipeg. A seventh individual faces similar charges under the provincial statutes and a triple tax penalty of $12,354. Had these cigarettes reached the black market, the Manitoba government stood to lose $4,118 in tax revenue.
A separate seizure of 3,800 cigarettes (19 cartons) remains under investigation.
The Manitoba government urges anyone who has information on contraband tobacco to contact their local police department, call the Manitoba Finance Special Investigations Unit at 204-945-1137 in Winnipeg, email smuggling_manitoba@rcmp-grc.gc.ca or call Manitoba Crime Stoppers (toll-free) at 1- 800 -222 -TIPS(8477).
