New police unit to fight illegal trade in Ontario
Canada’s National Coalition Against Contraband Tobacco (NCACT) yesterday welcomed the announcement of a new Contraband Tobacco Enforcement Team within the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP).
“With about one in three of all cigarettes purchased in the province being illegal, Ontario has the worst contraband tobacco problem in the country,” said Gary Grant, a 39-year veteran of the Toronto Police Service and national spokesperson for the NCACT. “It’s important that the government is putting words into action and creating a dedicated enforcement team to address this problem.”
According to a NCACT press note, the new team will be located within the OPP’s Organized Crime Enforcement Bureau, and will investigate the smuggling and trafficking of contraband tobacco. ‘The new team will collaborate with other law enforcement agencies, including locally, nationally and internationally, to eliminate illegal cigarette networks in Ontario,’ the press note said. ‘NCACT has long called for such a team, including at pre-budget hearings this past Friday in Ottawa.’
Grant said that other provinces such as Quebec had shown that meaningful anti-contraband tobacco enforcement could have a real impact. “Quebec’s Bill 59 and Acces Tabac program, which increased powers to local law enforcement agencies and provided them with the resources they need to investigate illegal tobacco, reduced contraband levels by about 50 percent,” he said. That has left more money in the provincial treasury and less in the pockets of organized crime.”
The RCMP estimates that there are about 175 organized crime groups involved in the illegal cigarette trade. ‘They use the profits from cigarette smuggling to finance their other illegal activities, including guns, drugs and human smuggling,’ the press note said. ‘The contraband tobacco trade is fueled by 50 illegal cigarette factories, based mostly in Ontario and Quebec, each of which can produce as many as 10,000 cigarettes a minute.’
Grant said the announcement about the new team was another important step towards addressing contraband tobacco in Ontario, but it was certainly not the last one, he added. “It will be important for the government to monitor the success of this enforcement team to ensure that it has the resources it needs to be effective, while also continuing to explore other contraband control measures, including public education campaigns and stronger regulation of cigarette manufacturing materials,” he said.