From: Intelligencer.ca
BELLEVILLE – In the event Belleville police would stop a truckload of contraband, officers would have to stand by and call either the RCMP or Ontario Revenue to investigate.
A situation both the national spokesperson for the National Coalition Against Contraband Tobacco, Gary Grant, and Belleville Police Chief Cory MacKay agree should change through the adoption of new legislature.
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Quick facts about contraband tobacco
- -175 criminal gangs are profiting from the trade in contraband tobacco, funding guns, drugs and human smuggling.
- -In 2011 alone, the overall contraband tobacco trade in Ontario cost an estimated $698 million to $1.1 billion in lost tax revenues to both the federal and provincial governments.
- -Contraband tobacco’s low price and easy accessibility makes it a key source of youth smoking.
- -In 2007, 2008 and 2009 the Canadian Convenience Stores Association conducted a major study into the proliferation of contraband tobacco at high schools in Ontario and Quebec.
- -As of 2011, the RCMP has identified more than 175 organized crime groups involved in the trafficking of contraband tobacco.
- -Lab analysis shows insect eggs, dead flies, mould, even human feces have appeared in contraband cigarettes.
