Ontario police have shut down a large contraband cigarette manufacturing plant on a First Nation’s reserve that was allegedly run by non-Indigenous criminal networks accused of exploiting indigenous lands to cover their activities.
The bootleg cigarette plant was staffed by 13 people identified as foreign nationals, police said after the raids.
Officers with the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) and the Six Nations Police Service seized five complete commercial-sized cigarette manufacturing lines, a handgun, and tobacco products with an estimated street value of more than $10 million, police said Wednesday.
The products seized include more than 40,000 kilograms of contraband tobacco (both as fine cut tobacco and completed cigarettes) and 300 kilograms of shisha tobacco, which is typically used in a hookah or water pipe, police said.
The factory was on Six Nations of the Grand River territory in southern Ontario, southwest of Hamilton. It is the largest First Nations reserve in Canada by population.
The raids and seizures are part of an operation called Project TRACK that began in April at the request of Six Nations police for support after an investigation uncovered suspicious activity.
Police say profits generated from the illegal tobacco production were channelled into a criminal enterprise outside the reserve.
Officers enforced search warrants on June 11 at a large manufacturing facility and on a vehicle on the Six Nations reserve. A section of Seneca Road at the southwest edge of the reserve was shut down during the operation with a heavy police presence. Police also raided a home in Hamilton.
Along with the cigarette-making machines, a gun, and tobacco, police seized three stolen vehicles, a truck allegedly used in the operation, $25,000 in Canadian currency, cell phones, other electronics, and packaging material.
“This operation involved non-Indigenous criminal networks exploiting Indigenous lands, with profits that did not benefit our community,” said Six Nations police Chief Darren Montour. “Criminal activity of this nature does not reflect our values, and we will continue to work alongside our partners to take action against criminal activity that undermines the integrity of our territory.”
A joint police search warrant in May was a precursor to June’s raid, with the Six Nations police saying at the time that their targets do not live on Six Nations territory and the alleged profits “were in no way invested in or utilized by the community.”
Two men living in Hamilton were arrested and charged with trafficking contraband tobacco, possession of tobacco manufacturing equipment, manufacturing tobacco products without a license, and unlawful possession or sale of tobacco products. Police identified them as Andrew Besam Hadaddin, 34, and Mustafa Jaber, 45.
Both men were released from custody following a bail hearing, with a court hearing scheduled for next month.
Canada Border Services Agency officers were brought in to deal with the foreign nationals allegedly found when police raided the factory.
OPP Chief Superintendent Mike Stoddart, with the provincial police’s Organized Crime Enforcement Bureau, said contraband enterprises pose a threat even when dealing in otherwise legal products.
“This investigation highlights the significant role criminal networks play in the manufacturing and distribution of contraband tobacco in Ontario. These illegal operations not only undermine public safety but also exploit communities for profit,” Stoddart said.
Police said the operation is ongoing.
Under Ontario’s Tobacco Tax Act, it is illegal to buy, possess, sell or distribute any quantity of untaxed cigarettes or other untaxed tobacco products without authorization.
The province has been trying to crack down on contraband tobacco, saying it is not just a matter of lost tax revenue but that it undermines efforts to reduce smoking rates and protect children and youth because bootleg cigarettes can be bought for just a few dollars. It also generates profits that fuel other criminal activity, the government warned.
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