Saskatoon StarPhoenix Staff
This winter, Saskatchewan RCMP traffic services has a message for anyone who might want to transport illegal goods across the province, says superintendent Grant St. Germaine:
“Stay off our roads.”
That message was delivered loud and clear last Friday, when Saskatoon RCMP and Saskatchewan Highway Patrol officers discovered a truck packed with 9.3 million illegal cigarettes near Langham, Sask.
In a news release sent out on Thursday, RCMP said the truck drove straight through a Highway 16 check stop around 3 a.m. on Nov. 14 before getting pulled over a couple kilometres later by highway patrol.
The truck was then escorted back to the Langham weigh scale, where officers took a closer look and found an entire 24 pallets of unstamped tobacco in the vehicle.
The driver, a 24-year-old man from Brampton, Ont., was arrested and taken to Saskatoon, where he appeared in court on Monday.
He has been charged with multiple counts of possession of unstamped tobacco under the Criminal Code, the Tobacco Tax Act and the Excise Act.
“Based on previous similar investigations in Saskatchewan, and current tax rates under provincial and federal legislations, the estimated total tax being evaded is over 4.4 million dollars,” according to Yorkton RCMP corporal Aaron Gullacher.
According to RCMP, 23 officers from four agencies were involved in the check stop operation.
