Four face charges for illegal tobacco, cannabis seized from Winnipeg stores

CTV News file image. (Shutterstock.com)

WINNIPEG — The province said four people are facing charges after illegal pot and nearly 29,000 contraband cigarettes were seized from three stores in Winnipeg.

The stores are owned and operated by the same people, the province said, and the businesses face suspension and could see their tobacco retail dealers licences revoked.

The province alleges the four people were selling or possessing illegal cigarettes not marked for Manitoba Tax Purposes. They face charges under The Manitoba Tobacco Tax Act and The Tax Administration and Miscellaneous Taxes Act for the tobacco, and it’s expected police will lay charges for possessing illegal cannabis.

The tax revenue from the cigarettes would’ve amounted to more than $8,600.

First-time offenders face fines between $1,000 and $10,000 and/or up to six months behind bars.

“If convicted, they are subject to a triple tax penalty,” the province said, equal to three times what the tax revenue would’ve been worth.

It noted one of the people facing charges had been convicted previously, and if convicted again, may face a $33,949 quadruple tax penalty.