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Four men and three truck companies have fined about $ 5 million for smuggling tobacco in Quebec.

The

violations included shipping raw tobacco without permission and without a manifest.

Stacked cigarettes.
Stacked cigarettes. Photo: Matt Rourke /AP

After being convicted, four men and three Shipping company fined $ 4.97 million for tobacco smuggling in Quebec

The fine was given by 67-year-old James Douglas Shanks, who lives in Cornwall, Ontario. Revenu Québec, the leader in tobacco transport, said in a statement Thursday. Shanks was also sentenced to 12 months in prison. The

violations included shipping raw tobacco without permission and shipping raw tobacco without a manifest.

Another criminal was a 62-year-old Todd McKunary in Langton, Ontario, who was fined about $ 1 million. Kanesatake's Derek Dennis, 57, was fined $ 76,317. Willard Richardson, 65, of Saint-Alphonse de Granby was fined $ 44,571.

Langton's 1047535 Ontario Ltd. (Encore Transportation Services) was fined about $ 1 million, Kanesatake's Transport Crazy Horse Inc. was fined $ 790,603, and Dollard -des-Ormeaux's Transport Flatliner Inc. is fined $ 32,000.

The convictions stem from two cases in the fall of 2018. On October 30, that year, Sûreté du Québec officers found 13,540 kilograms of raw tobacco during a search. Transport Crazy Horse trucks, trailers and containers have been confiscated.

Richardson and Manary drove the truck. Dennis was the president of Transport Crazy Horse. All three worked in collaboration with Shanks.

A second search was conducted on November 3, and 14,710 kg of raw tobacco was confiscated. Transport flat liners were fined in connection with shipping, and trucks, trailers, and their containers were confiscated.

Anyone engaged in commercial activities related to tobacco products in Quebec must hold a permit. Failure to comply with the requirements can result in a fine of up to $ 6,000 and imprisonment of up to two years. People who buy smuggled cigarettes for personal use are subject to a fine of at least $ 350.

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