12 suspects have been charged with distributing illegal cigarettes.
Another Winnipeg man is additionally charged with operating a small, marijuana grow operation police discovered inside a property they were searching.police seized 1.5-million cigarettes, eight vehicles, a horse trailer and more than $50,000 in cash in concluding the criminal investigation.
Seventy-seven cases of contraband cigarettes were seized from a property in Clandeboye, Man., a hamlet just north of Winnipeg.
Police say the contraband cigarettes originated in eastern Canada and, after being transported to Manitoba in vehicles and trailers, were sold by the case. Each case contained 50 plastic, re-sealable bags filled with 200 cigarettes.
The cigarettes were sold in Winnipeg and surrounding communities.
Police say the cigarettes they seized would have resulted in a loss of $427,000 in federal and provincial sales taxes. Possessing and selling tobacco which has not been stamped violates the federal Excise Act and provincial Tobacco Tax Act.
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