Holy smokes!: Police seize millions of illegal cigarettes near Indian Head

Now that is a lot of smokes.

Last Thursday, Saskatchewan Highway Patrol officers pulled over a semi on the Trans-Canada Highway just east of Indian Head. According to the RCMP, the officers saw evidence that the truck was transporting illegal cigarettes and conducted a search.

That search of the truck and trailer turned up 18 pallets, each of which contained 30 boxes of unstamped tobacco. In total, officers seized about 5.4 million cigarettes and 1,356 kilograms of shisha tobacco.

Some of the cigarettes seized by the RCMP after a semi was pulled over near Indian Head. (RCMP/Submitted)

The Indian Head RCMP took over the investigation, which also involved officers from the Saskatchewan Highway Patrol and enforcement officers in the revenue division of the Saskatchewan Ministry of Finance.

Two men from Hamilton were charged with two counts each of selling tobacco and raw leaf tobacco, one count each of unlawful possession or sale of tobacco products, one count each of unlawfully importing tobacco into Saskatchewan, and one count each of possession or authorize or cause another person to be in possession of unmarked tobacco.

They’re scheduled to appear in court in Indian Head on Jan. 3.

“This is a very significant seizure of contraband tobacco — the largest I’ve seen in my career,” Indian Head RCMP Sgt. Ryan Case said in a media release.

“The sale of illegal tobacco has many effects on Saskatchewan and its residents. When you buy contraband tobacco, you have no idea how and where it is manufactured. There is no quality control like you find with legal manufacture and that presents extra risk to smokers.

“Also, contraband tobacco reduces revenue for business owners through legal sales, but also represents tax loss for our province. Lastly, the manufacture and trafficking of contraband tobacco is often tied to organized crime groups.”