Tobacco dealers busted

32 arrests made in six-city ring Network supplied Western Canada

MONTREAL— High tobacco taxes in Western Canada appear to have been part of the motivation behind a Quebec- based contraband tobacco ring that supplied cheap smokes to regional markets, police say.

Several hundred police officers spread across Quebec yesterday in a crackdown on the ring. Raids also took place in Ontario, Calgary and Vancouver.

Officers swooped down on 40 sites and arrested 32 people who face charges of conspiracy, illegal trafficking in tobacco and drug trafficking, said Quebec police Insp. Yves Riopel.

“ Taxes are higher and it’s more profitable because a carton of cigarettes in Western Canada costs around $80 and contraband cigarettes were sold at $ 40,” Riopel told reporters.

Riopel said police found an organized network of contraband tobacco operating in six cities.

“ What was seized was 17,000 bags ( 200 grams each) of tobacco, 1,000 cartons of cigarettes, about 250 bales of tobacco each weighing approximately 20 kilos,” he said.

Riopel said the vast illegal network supplied a regional and local market in Quebec but more specifically it developed a market in Western Canada where generic cigarettes were sold. The alleged ringleader, Bertrand Beaupre, was arrested near Montreal and appeared in court to face charges of conspiracy and illegal trafficking.

Riopel said the contraband was allegedly supplied by tobacco farmers in Quebec and Ontario.