Ontario man charged after 9.1 million illegal cigarettes seized on Sask. highway

RCMP file photo.

An Ontario man is facing several charges after RCMP seized more than nine million illegal cigarettes during a traffic stop on Highway 16.

Saskatchewan Highway Patrol officers stopped a truck and trailer in the Rural Municipality of Battle River shortly before 1 a.m. on Jan. 20, the Saskatchewan RCMP said in a news release Thursday.

Officers found a large amount of illicit tobacco in the trailer and arrested the man, who police say was already under court-ordered conditions not to leave Ontario after facing tobacco-related charges in that province.

• Get the latest news from Saskatoon, sent directly to you: Download the CTV News App

RCMP units from the Battlefords and the Saskatchewan Trafficking Response Team in Yorkton were called in to assist. During a search of the truck and trailer, officers observed 23 pallets of unstamped tobacco containing approximately 9.1 million illicit cigarettes, police said.

Harwinder Kahlon, 41, of Brampton, Ont., is charged with multiple offences, including trafficking and possessing unstamped tobacco, transporting improperly marked tobacco and failing to comply with a court‑ordered condition.

Kahlon appeared in North Battleford provincial court on Jan. 21.