
(Cigarettes image via Shutterstock)
The Manitoba government has snuffed out the illegal sale of 882,800 cigarettes in two separate seizures this month.
The first incident occurred November 16, when an apartment in south St. Vital was searched. The province says it was set up similar to a store front, complete with a counter. Officers seized 81 baggies, 83 cartons and 62 individual packages totalling 32,800 cigarettes.
On November 25, a Ford F-350 cargo van was pulled over near West Hawk Lake east of Winnipeg. Manitoba Finance investigators found 85 cases of assorted contraband cigarettes, including 2,000 cartons and 2,250 baggies, for a total of 850,000 cigarettes.
Two men face charges in both cases under the Manitoba Tobacco Tax Act and the Tax Administration and Miscellaneous Taxes Act.
— Staff