About 171,000 packs of contraband cigarettes with an estimated value of more than $1.7 million have been seized by West Shore RCMP from a residential property in Langford — the largest-ever seizure of illicit tobacco by the detachment.
The tobacco was found Dec. 30 when the detachment’s Drugs and Organized Crime Unit executed a search warrant at a Setchfield Avenue property. It brought in a forklift and flatbed truck to help move the cigarettes, which were packaged in about 17,100 cartons.
Supt. Todd Preston, officer in charge of West Shore RCMP, said the illicit-tobacco trade often uses drug pipelines set up by organized crime.
Sale of illicit tobacco helps to fund organized-crime groups, while Canadians lose out on tax revenue that would otherwise be used to support government-funded initiatives, police said.
The RCMP urged anyone spotting suspicious activity or with information related to smuggling, drug importation, trafficking or possession to contact police.
Police said no arrests have been made in the case, but charges and fines are anticipated.
sa国际传媒’s largest seizure of contraband cigarettes was made a year ago, in January 2024, after a months-long investigation by the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit of sa国际传媒
Seven search warrants executed in Victoria, Surrey, Abbotsford and Langley turned up 11.9 million cigarettes that filled 35 pallets, 10 pallets of contraband liquor, 32 firearms, ammunition, body armour, eight vehicles, a speedboat, half a kilogram of cocaine and 80 kilograms of marijuana.
The investigation was launched when the special-enforcement unit — which targets gangs — obtained information regarding a suspected trafficking network dealing in drugs and contraband tobacco.
The unit’s media officer said at the time the seizure was announced that dealing in “illicit commodities” is one of the ways that organized-crime groups supports its criminal operations.
A report released in 2023 by the Convenience Industry of sa国际传媒 estimated that sa国际传媒 lost $215 million to $591 million in tobacco-tax revenue due to illegal sales from 2019-22.
The report said higher tobacco taxes established by the provinces and the federal government to reduce smoking rates have led many smokers to seek out cheaper tobacco products on the illicit market.
Tougher penalties for trafficking in illegal tobacco and more police activity to fight the problem were recommended.
