The Department of Justice and Public Safety seized roughly 70,000 contraband cigarettes in the Campbellton, N.B., area earlier this month.
According to a Monday news release, officers conducted several traffic stops on Dec. 1 and 2, arresting and charging seven people under the Tobacco Tax Act. The accused include:
- 61-year-old man from Kedgwick
- 56-year-old woman from Rivière-du-Nord
- 75-year-old woman from Beaurivage
- 64-year-old man from Tracadie
- 60-year-old man from Fredericton
- 44-year-old man from Moncton
- 59-year-old woman from Belledune
The release says the seized tobacco had a provincial tax value of $17,855 and a federal excise tax value of $11,077.
According to the department, peace officers have seized more than one million contraband cigarettes over the past eight months and 34 people have been charged.