Following investigations into the sale of contraband cigarettes, members of the Manitoba Finance Taxation Special Investigations Unit have seized a total of 250,200 contraband cigarettes in two separate incidents.
On July 1, Falcon Lake RCMP and Manitoba Finance investigators stopped a truck hauling a camper trailer on the Trans-Canada Highway east of Winnipeg. The vehicle and trailer were seized and impounded in a Winnipeg location and a search was conducted. One thousand cartons of contraband cigarettes were found in the trailer and one carton in the vehicle, for a total of 200,200 cigarettes. All but one carton of cigarettes bore no tax markings for Manitoba or for the Excise Act (2001). One carton bore only the Excise Act tax markings.
Currently, one adult male faces charges under the Manitoba Tobacco Tax Act and the Tax Administration and Miscellaneous Taxes Act including possession of non-Manitoba marked tobacco and wilful evasion of paying Manitoba tobacco tax. If convicted, he faces fines between $1,000 and $10,000 and/or up to six months imprisonment, and a mandatory tax penalty of $177,177. Investigations continue into involvement of others and further charges may result.
On July 2, two male subjects were noted at a Winnipeg address transferring boxes clearly identifiable as contraband cigarettes from one vehicle to another. Manitoba Finance investigators approached the subjects and seized 250 cartons (50,000 cigarettes) not marked for Manitoba tax purposes. Further inspection of the cigarettes revealed that 125 of the cartons were also not marked in accordance with the Excise Act (2001).
Two adult males face charges under the Manitoba Tobacco Tax Act and the Tax Administration and Miscellaneous Taxes Act including possession of non-Manitoba marked tobacco and willful evasion of paying Manitoba tobacco tax. If convicted, they each face fines of between $1,000 and $10,000 and/or up to six months imprisonment, and a mandatory tax penalty of $44,250.
All cigarettes that violate the Excise Act (2001) are also liable to charges under that act. All individuals will be appearing in court in the near future.
Provincial officials urge 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 CrimeStoppers (toll-free) at 1-800-222-TIPS(8477).
