Police found 4 million contraband cigarettes — after a tractor-trailer overturned on Trans-Labrador Highway
Posted on: Jun 09, 2026 19:00 IST | Posted by: Cbc
An investigating into an upset house trailer e of Labrador metropolis last Friday took a turn when police found millions of contraband cigarettes inside.
Officers were responding to a single-vehicle collision when they discovered the driver â an Ontario man â was transporting about $2 million worth of illegal tobacco in a U-Haul trailer, according to Const. Stephanie Myers, the RNC's public communications officer.
The man was arrested and charged with trafficking contraband tobacco.Â
Itâs the RNCâs second major contraband cigarette seizure since November 2025, when 12,100 cartons with a street value of more than $1 million were found in a St. Johnâs area search.
âThere is a huge market for them,â said Myers.
Itâs a market that continues to grow faster than retailers can account for. That's according to Mike Hammoud, Atlantic Canada vice-president with the Convenience Industry Council of Canada.Â
He said black market cigarettes make up about half of Newfoundland and Labradorâs tobacco market.Â
According to the provincial Finance Department, smokers in Newfoundland and Labrador pay retailers a tax of 32.5 cents per cigarette. The low price of contraband can be blamed for the unlevel playing field that legitimate merchants are facing, Hammoud said.
He said the provincial government could also be missing out on significant tax revenue as a result of the illegal tobacco trade. Data gathered by the University of Waterloo indicates Newfoundland and Labrador's smoking prevalence sits at around 15 per cent, while the national average is about 10 per cent.
âLosing this kind of revenue and giving it to organized crime, it undermines governmentâs revenue, public health objectives and our law-abiding retailers â and it puts them all at a disadvantage,â said Hammoud.Â
He said contraband tobacco trafficking is not a victimless crime, and called for stricter enforcement.
â[Traffickers] use this money to finance their other illicit activities,â Hammoud said.
âThe province has seen a general decline in tobacco tax revenues, which can be associated with various factors â including contraband tobacco, smoking cessation, and new products such as vape and cannabis,â the statement said.
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