SWIFT CURRENT AREA - Swift Current Rural RCMP and Saskatchewan Highway Patrol seized 7.5 million cigarettes during a recent traffic stop.
On Feb. 18, Swift Current Rural RCMP received a request to assist Saskatchewan Highway Patrol with a roadside traffic stop.
Officers responded to a tractor and trailer unit Saskatchewan Highway Patrol had stopped on Highway 1, approximately 14 kilometres west of Swift Current. The adult male driver was travelling from Toronto to British Columbia. As a result of the investigation, officers searched the semi and trailer, locating and seizing approximately 7.5 million unstamped cigarettes. The adult male was arrested at the scene.
“Our officers – while working in conjunction with our partnering agency – prevented over 7,000,000 cigarettes from entering the illegal market,” said Supt. Murray Chamberlin, Deputy Criminal Operations Officer for the Saskatchewan RCMP, in the news release. “This is yet another example of the dedicated work of our officers and our province, who work together to keep Saskatchewan communities safe.”
A 24-year-old man, from Delta, B.C., is charged with:
- one count, sell, offer for sale, transport, deliver, distribute, or have in his possession for the purpose of sale a tobacco product, or a raw leaf tobacco that is unstamped;
- one count, sell, offer for sale of have in his possession a tobacco product unstamped; and
- one count, possess, store, transport or sell tobacco that is not marked in a prescribed manner.
He is scheduled to appear in Swift Current Provincial Court on April 2.
“Saskatchewan Highway Patrol officers continue to prove their dedication to public safety, and this operation is yet another example of their ongoing efforts to prevent illicit substances from reaching our communities,” Minister of Corrections, Policing and Public Safety Tim Mcleod said. “This type of criminal activity can have widespread repercussions on our communities by creating opportunities for further trafficking crime and negatively affecting our economy and small businesses. We applaud the work being done by our policing agencies for the benefit of our province.”
Saskatchewan Highway Patrol officers with the Provincial Protective Services Branch assisted in this investigation.
