From: West Island Gazette
41-year-old lead SQ on 25-kilometre long police chase
Cheryl Cornacchia
A 41-year-old man arrested by Sûreté du Québec officers July 28, will face multiple charges related to the 800,000 contraband cigarettes found in a vehicle the man had been driving before he crashed on Highway 540.
The man was apprehended after SQ officers from the Vaudreuil-Soulanges Est detachment were tipped off by Ontario Provincial Police July 28, at around 4:15 a.m., said Constable Ingrid Asselin, a spokesperson for the SQ.
SQ officers intercepted the man’s vehicle on eastbound Highway 20 near Coteau du Lac, but a 25-kilometre long police chase followed when the man refused to pull over, Asseling said. The man was arrested after he smashed is vehicle on northbound Highway 540, a short spur connecting Highways 20 and 40 in the off-Island.
Although he intially took off on foot, he was quickly apprehended by police and taken to hospital. He did not suffer serious injuries.
Asselin said he will face multiple charges related to cigarette smuggling, evading police arrest and the high-speed chase. Police did not say where the cigarettes were manufactured or their value.
