The Mounties seized 100,000 illegal cigarettes at a traffic stop in Digby on Saturday, July 9.
Members of The Yarmouth Integrated Border Enforcement Team, the Yarmouth-Clare Street Crime Unit and Digby RCMP seized approximately 100,000 illegal cigarettes from a vehicle in the "late evening hours" in the town of Digby.
They arrested a 78 year-old Yarmouth County man and charged him with numerous charges under the Excise and Revenue Acts including; Unlawful possession of tobacco under the Excise Act, Possession of tobacco with applicable taxes not paid and possessing tobacco not bearing the prescribed markings, under the Nova Scotia Revenue Act. They also seized the man’s 1998 Ford F150.
"Illegal tobacco is a large money-maker for organized criminal groups,” says Cst. Ken Fraser of the North Atlantic Integrated Border Enforcement Team, based out of Yarmouth. “Contraband tobacco is not a victimless crime; possessing, distributing and purchasing contraband tobacco directly funds criminal activities."
The accused will enter plea in Digby provincial court in mid-September.
