Fines of $ 4.75 million for 14 tobacco smugglers

Recently convicted of contraband tobacco, 14 smugglers were fined close to $ 5 million and three of them were also sentenced to serve jail terms, Revenu Québec announced on Tuesday.

The 14 individuals were believed to have possessed, sold, delivered or transported contraband tobacco without having a permit required by law to carry out commercial activities related to tobacco products.

Among the smugglers caught by Revenu Québec, we find three Ontarians, three Americans and eight Quebecers.

In addition to their fines, three of them were sentenced to prison terms. Daniel McDonald, 28, of Cornwall, Ont., Will have to spend two years less a day behind bars, in addition to paying a fine of just over half a million dollars.

John Lewis White, 49, from Hogansburg, New York, was sentenced to 18 months in jail. He will also have to reimburse Revenu Québec a sum of $ 25,000.

Jock Lawrence, 28, also from Hogansburg, was sentenced to 15 months in prison and fined $ 1 million, the highest fine of the group of 14 smugglers.

The fines imposed on other offenders vary between $ 120,000 and $ 500,000.

These convictions stem from a major investigation project led by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police targeting “groups of individuals who facilitated contraband tobacco”.

According to the authorities, contraband tobacco transited between the United States and the Akwesasne reserve, before being transported by boat on Lake Saint-François, then shipped by land to the Kahnawake and Kanesatake reserves.

.