From: Sun
MONTREAL — Police say they have arrested at least 28 people and broken up a $30-million Mob- and Mohawk-run contraband tobacco ring.
It’s the “largest investigation of contraband tobacco ever undertaken in North America,” according to Quebec provincial police.
About 400 police officers raided more than two dozen locations Wednesday in Montreal and near the Akwesasne Mohawk reserve that straddles Ontario, Quebec and New York State.
Quebec provincial police Insp. Michel Pelletier said police had 35 arrest warrants. Nicola Valvano, who police say is a member of the Montreal Mafia, is among those in custody.
“The stratagem consisted of buying large quantities of tobacco from North Carolina and bringing it here through the importation of legal products by shell companies,” Pelletier told a news conference.
Some of the tobacco was smuggled through Lacolle, Que., one of the busiest Canada-US border crossings. Other contraband was brought in through Akwesasne, a popular corridor for smugglers due to its international geography.
The contraband was shipped to “illicit factories” in Kahnawake, Que., another Mohawk reserve on Montreal’s south shore.
