From: The Vancouver Sun
By Monique Muise, Postmedia News
Police forces on both sides of the Canada-U. S.
border have dealt a major blow to an illegal tobacco ring that they say was linked to the Mafia and aboriginal organized crime.
Officials from the Sûreté du Québec, the Canada Border Services Agency, the RCMP and the U. S. Department of Homeland Security were on hand Wednesday as 400 officers fanned out in Montreal and the surrounding regions and began raiding dozens of properties. Among the locations targeted just before dawn were homes in St-Leonard and Valleyfield and a strip club in Dundee, near the border.
In all, $ 7 million worth of contraband was seized and 28 people arrested. Police are still searching for seven people linked to the criminal ring, which allegedly involved close collaboration between the Mafia and aboriginal organized crime.
Residents of Kahnawake said it was the first time they’d heard police refer to “aboriginal organized crime” and said the raids will affect many members of their community who depend on the cigarette industry to make an honest living.
“It benefits the whole community both directly and indirectly,” said Peggy Mayo, a former chief of the band council. “Why would the local government have supported it for the past 25 years if the Mob was involved?” Christine Zachary Deom, a chief on the band council, said that even though making and selling cigarettes is controversial – “we’re not making baby food” – it’s a source of income close to home.”
