Roughly 600K Illegal Cigarettes Seized by Winnipeg Police

Winnipeg police have charged a 36-year-old man after discovering hundreds of thousands of contraband cigarettes in a city home. The illegal tobacco was found Tuesday afternoon in the 600 block of Sherbrook Street.

Officers initially visited the residence to investigate an unrelated incident. During their presence, they observed the illegal tobacco. The Winnipeg Police Service (WPS) property crime unit subsequently took over the investigation and obtained a search warrant for the home.

While officers waited for the warrant, the suspect returned to the residence and was arrested without incident. A search of the home early Wednesday morning resulted in the confiscation of nearly 3,000 cigarette cartons and $1,500 in cash. Police estimate the total number of individual cigarettes seized to be around 600,000.

The suspect faces charges of trafficking in contraband tobacco and possession of property obtained by crime under $5,000. He has since been released from custody on an undertaking.