Cornwall task force seizes 2.2 tonnes of contraband tobacco

A joint task force seized 2,260 kilograms of contraband tobacco — enough to roll more than two million cigarettes — along the shores of the St. Lawrence River, leading to the arrests of seven people in August.

The Cornwall Regional Task Force said in a news release that four men and three women were arrested over the course of three separate investigations involving suspect vessels that transported the contraband along the river to "various shoreline properties where the product was unloaded and transferred to awaiting vehicles."

All suspects were from either Quebec or Ontario, and ranged in age from 18 to 42, the task force said. They have been charged under provisions in the Excise Act, and could face further charges under the provincial Tobacco Tax Act for the possession of unmarked cigarettes.

The task force is a partnership between RCMP, Ontario Provincial Police and the Ontario Ministry of Finance.

The task force was also called to Cornwall's port of entry on two separate occasion in relation to the seizure of nearly 600 kilograms of fine-cut tobacco contraband from travellers. A young man from New York and a man from Cornwall were arrested.