Federal investigators have seized 27 tonnes of contraband cigarettes in British Columbia, the culmination of a yearlong enforcement program targeting organized crime, the Mounties announced Friday.
The cigarettes were seized in two separate busts, netting 133,000 cartons with a total estimated retail value of $24 million, according to police.
The most recent seizure was on Feb. 28, when investigators raided four properties in Maple Ridge and Mission and seized 67,500 cartons, representing the largest one-time seizure of contraband cigarettes in the province.
Two people were arrested and police also seized 70 pounds of silver and $100,000 cash, assistant commissioner David Teboul of the RCMP’s federal policing program announced in a news conference Friday alongside B.C. Public Safety Minister and Solicitor General Mike Farnworth.
