Mounties seize more than 2.8M cigarettes, $500K after investigation

Seven people from the Regina area were among nine people charged after a 17-month-long investigation resulted in the seizure of more than 2.8 million cigarettes and more than $500,000 in cash.

(RCMP/Submitted)

In a media release Friday, the Saskatchewan RCMP’s Federal Serious and Organized Crime Unit said six Regina residents and a person who lives in Pense are facing a variety of charges after the investigation. Two B.C. residents also were charged.

The Mounties said the unit started an interprovincial investigation into a Saskatchewan-based group that was distributing illicit cannabis and tobacco products. The FSOC was aided by federal, provincial, municipal and RCMP resources in B.C., Quebec and Saskatchewan.

The police investigation determined cannabis products from B.C. were being bought by people in Saskatchewan and then exchanged for tobacco products from Quebec.

During the operation, the RCMP was able to intercept 2,856,500 cigarettes, $573,735 in Canadian cash, 69.3 pounds of cannabis and 5,152 grams of shatter.

(RCMP/Submitted)

“Over the course of 17 months, FSOC used intelligence-based policing to conduct a thorough investigation utilizing various police techniques including over 50 searches of businesses, residences and vehicles for evidence,” the release said.

(RCMP/Submitted)

The nine people are facing a combined total of 64 charges under the Criminal Code, the Cannabis Act and the Excise Act. They’re to appear in Regina Provincial Court next Thursday.