City woman gets house arrest for role in smoke smuggling ring

SUMMERSIDE — A 35-year-old Summerside woman, who the Crown said was a key player in an illegal tobacco smuggling operation, will spend the next nine months under house arrest.

Andrea Estelle Chaisson was sentenced Thursday in provincial court in Summerside. She pleaded guilty earlier this month to four charges of conspiracy to commit an indictable offence and sentencing was adjourned to determine whether she was eligible for a conditional sentence or what’s commonly referred to as house arrest.

Chaisson, representing herself in court, apologized for her actions.

“I shouldn’t have done it, I realize that.”

Chaisson was one of 12 people, most from Prince County, arrested after an undercover operation, known as Operation Lynch, conducted last year by RCMP’S Customs and Excise Section and RCMP provincial tobacco enforcement officers.

Judge Jeff Lantz referred to her in court as the co-ordinator of couriers.

The operation, conducted in the Summerside and Georgetown areas, resulted in the arrest of 10 men and two women – one being Chaisson – for conspiracy-related offences under the Excise Act, the Provincial Tobacco Tax Act and the Criminal Code.

According to facts presented during an earlier court appearance, RCMP intercepted several communications between Chaisson and Jimmy Banks, one of the individuals charged, detailing trips to the Kahnawake Reserve in Quebec to purchase cigarettes. Surveillance also uncovered amounts and costs of the purchases and customer orders for the contraband tobacco.

Chaisson had a previous related record, convicted in 2009 of possessing contraband tobacco. At that time she was fined almost $35,000.

The amount of cigarettes involved in this particular case was about 280,000.

Lantz said the argument could easily be made for Chaisson to serve her time behind bars, something he said will happen if she is before his court again on similar charges.

While on house arrest, Chaisson must refrain from consuming alcohol or drugs, won’t be permitted to entertain guests and must only be out of her home for work and appointments approved by her supervisor.

Once her conditional sentence is complete, she will be on probation for 24 months, during which time she must perform 50 hours of community service work. She was also ordered to pay $400 in victim surcharges.