Smugglers limit losses with smaller shipments

The National Coalition Against Contraband Tobacco (NCACT) is asking the government of New Brunswick, Canada, to use next week’s budget to increase action against the province’s growing contraband tobacco problem.

“Illegal cigarettes are a growing and significant problem in New Brunswick,” said Gary Grant, national spokesperson for the NCACT. “Just last week, RCMP in the province highlighted that there has been little change in the flow of smuggled tobacco into the province. If anything, the criminals are adapting their smuggling networks to limit large seizures. That’s a reminder that this is big business for criminal gangs, and they are going to do what it takes to preserve it.”

According to an NCACT press note, the RCMP has indicated that smugglers have adapted to smaller shipments to avoid large busts, such as that in late November where more than 1.5 million cigarettes were seized, along with guns and illicit alcohol, near Val-Doucet.

“It’s important that the provincial government follow through on its commitment to create a dedicated contraband tobacco enforcement unit to address this issue,” said Grant. “Other provinces have shown that the surest way of making a meaningful reduction in contraband tobacco is through dedicated enforcement. Quebec, as an example, has used increased enforcement and dedicated resources to reduce its contraband tobacco problem by half. Just this week, Ontario announced that it was creating its own provincial enforcement team.”