Two men charged after 7.2 million illegal cigarettes seized near Swift Current

SWIFT CURRENT — Two Ontario men are facing charges after Saskatchewan Highway Patrol officers seized an estimated 7.2 million illegal cigarettes during a commercial vehicle inspection near Swift Current.

According to Saskatchewan RCMP, officers with the Saskatchewan Highway Patrol were conducting inspections at the weigh scale on Highway 1 near Swift Current on Feb. 21 when they determined a semi-trailer was carrying what was believed to be illegal tobacco products.

Highway patrol officers contacted Swift Current Rural RCMP to continue the investigation.

Police say officers located and seized 26 pallets of illegal cigarettes inside the trailer. The pallets are estimated to have contained approximately 7.2 million cigarettes.

Two adult men were arrested.

Hardev Singh, 24, and Sukhpreet Singh, 28, both of Brampton, Ont., are each charged with unlawfully possessing tobacco for the purpose of sale under the Criminal Code, unlawfully possessing unmarked tobacco under the Excise Act, and unlawfully possessing tobacco under Saskatchewan’s Tobacco Tax Act.

Both men are scheduled to appear in Swift Current provincial court on April 1.

Saskatchewan RCMP’s Swift Current Municipal Detachment and the Saskatchewan Trafficking Response Team assisted in the investigation.