N.B., Que. seize large quantity of illegal cigarettes, beer in Chaleur region

A joint operation between New Brunswick and Quebec has netted more than 126,000 illegal cigarettes and 165 cases of beer near the border between the two provinces.

On May 30 and 31, enforcement officers from New Brunswick’s Department of Justice and Public Safety, in partnership with the Sûreté du Quebec, held traffic-check stops in the Chaleur region. The joint enforcement operation focused on illegal tobacco products.

In the end, they seized 126,042 illegal cigarettes, 1,980 bottles (165 cases) of beer and one vehicle.

READ: Nova Scotia man fined $5K after seizure of contraband cigarettes in N.B.

The beer seized had not been purchased in New Brunswick and the vehicle was seized because it was used in the “conveyance of illegal tobacco products.”

Tickets under the Tobacco Tax Act and the Liquor Control Act were issued.

Free the Beer decision at Supreme Court of Canada

02:02

Free the Beer decision at Supreme Court of Canada

00:27

Allowing cross-border beer sales would have opened ‘flood gates’ to transports: lawyer

00:41

Decision on inter-provincial beer sales prevents ‘race to the bottom’

00:38

Could ‘Free the Beer’ decision be applied to Trans Mountain? This lawyer doesn’t think so

01:52

‘Free the Beer’ case now before Supreme Court

As well, two people were arrested for transporting unstamped cigarettes. They were released on a promise to appear in court at a later date.

According to New Brunswick, the tobacco seized represented a provincial tax value of about $32,140 and a federal tobacco excise tax value of $26,468.

The province goes on to say that the contraband tobacco market leads to an annual $13-million revenue loss and that the sale of illegal tobacco is “often funnelled into organized crime and supports the underground economy in New Brunswick.”