6 people, 3 Winnipeg stores face charges after millions of cigarettes seized in smuggling investigation
Largest-ever seizure from individual, with more than 3 million cigarettes confiscated from 1 person: province
More than three million contraband cigarettes have been confiscated from one person in what the province says is the largest seizure from a single person in the Manitoba's history.
Several other people and three Winnipeg stores also face charges after a smuggling investigation led by the special investigations unit of Manitoba Finance's compliance and enforcement division, with help from police in Winnipeg, Quebec and Ontario, the province of Manitoba said in a Thursday news release.
The investigation, dubbed "Project Shrek," led to a total of more than 3.4 million cigarettes being confiscated, the province says — over three million from one person, and smaller quantities from other people.
Those cigarettes represent more than $1 million in lost tobacco tax revenue to the province, according to the news release.
Police also recovered more than $3,000 in cash, a personal truck and a utility trailer from the person who had the bulk of the cigarettes.
Six adults face a variety of charges under the Tobacco Tax Act, the Tax Administration and Miscellaneous Taxes Act and the Criminal Code, the province says, and face more than $4 million in financial tax penalties.
The province didn't provide any details about the individuals accused.
As well, three Winnipeg convenience stores face charges and have had their retail tobacco licences suspended: Royal Supermarket on Wellington Avenue, Honey Convenience on Provencher Boulevard and Muncheez on Dufferin Avenue.
CBC reached out to the stores for comment.
No one at Royal Supermarket or Muncheez was immediately available for comment. An employee who answered at Honey Convenience said they were not aware of the investigation or that the store's licence had been suspended.
Individual fines under the tax acts range from $1,000 to $10,000 and up to six months in jail, as well as a potential triple tax penalty, the province says.
For any further offences, those penalties increase to fines of $10,000 to $50,000 and up to 12 months imprisonment, and a potential quadruple tax penalty.
Businesses can have their tobacco licence suspended for violations.