The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) says two brothers have been convicted after trying to smuggle over 45,000 kilograms of illegal tobacco into Canada from the United States.
In a news release on Friday, the CBSA said officers at the Queenston-Lewiston Bridge in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, found the tobacco during three separate seizures between 2021 and 2022.
The brothers, James and Jason McDuffie, both 53 years old, used a commercial truck to transport the tobacco across the border.
The CBSA said that if the smuggling had worked, the pair would have avoided paying about $17.5 million in taxes and duties.
“Criminal groups use many ways to smuggle illegal tobacco into Canada,” the CBSA said. “This kind of smuggling helps organized crime and can lead to the trafficking of other dangerous items like drugs and weapons. It also puts the health and safety of Canadians at risk.”
James McDuffie pleaded guilty to making false statements under the Customs Act on June 17. He was sentenced to nine months of house arrest and two years of probation.
Jason McDuffie pleaded guilty on May 21 to two counts of smuggling and two counts of having unstamped tobacco. He was given a conditional sentence of just under two years of house arrest, one year of probation, and must complete 200 hours of community service.
