Tag: Contraband

Categories
Kingston OPP Police Press Releases

Multi-Million Dollar Tobacco Bust

(KINGSTON, ON) – A traffic complaint about a speeding tractor-trailer on Highway 401 has led to a large seizure of contraband tobacco, worth millions of dollars.

On Tuesday, July 15, 2025, shortly before 7:00 a.m., Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) officers from the Lennox and Addington County Detachment responded to the eastbound on Highway 401 near Shannonville Road.

A short time later, officers with the Frontenac Detachment stopped the tractor trailer near Joyceville Road in Kingston. The truck was escorted to the Ministry of Transportation scales at Gananoque for a safety inspection. Documentation and other issues led to an inspection of the cargo.

Inside, OPP and MTO officers found the trailer was filled with over 17,820 kilograms of contraband, fine-cut tobacco, estimated to be worth approximately $4.4 million. That equates to a total federal and provincial tax loss of approximately $9.1 million.

As a result of the investigation, Joga Singh DHILLON, age 60 of Puslinch Township, near Cambridge, has been charged with trafficking contraband tobacco.

The accused was released from custody and is scheduled to appear before the Ontario Court of Justice in Kingston on September 2, 2025.

The investigation by the Frontenac Detachment and the OPP Contraband Tobacco Enforcement Team, in conjunction with the Ministry of Transportation, is continuing.

Categories
OPP Police Press Releases Toronto Police

$2.3 Million Tobacco Bust

(GREATER TORONTO AREA, ON) – A 16-month contraband tobacco investigation has resulted in Criminal Code (CC) charges against five individuals from the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).

In January 2024, the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) Contraband Tobacco Enforcement Team (CTET) began this intelligence-led investigation into the alleged trafficking of contraband tobacco, including shisha tobacco and contraband cigarettes, by a network of individuals based in the GTA.

On Thursday, July 4, 2024, CTET executed three search warrants in the GTA, which led to the seizure of more than 800 kg of shisha tobacco, more than 16,000 contraband cigarettes and $30,000 in Canadian currency. The tobacco seized has an estimated street value of more than $90,000.

On Thursday, October 24, 2024, 16 search warrants were executed in Brantford, Burlington, Mississauga, Vaughan and Scarborough by members from:

  • OPP CTET
  • OPP Organized Crime Enforcement Bureau
  • OPP-led Provincial Joint Forces Cannabis Enforcement Team
  • Brant County OPP Community Street Crime Unit
  • Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA)
  • Ontario Ministry of Finance (MOF)

The search warrants resulted in the seizure of approximately 19,000 kg of contraband tobacco, valued at $2.3 million, as well as electronic devices.

In November 2024, Ali MALLAH, age 58 of Toronto, was arrested and charged with trafficking contraband tobacco, contrary to s. 121.1(1) of the CC.

In April 2025, following a thorough investigation, four additional individuals were arrested and charged with trafficking contraband tobacco:

  • Omar OMRAN, age 25 of Scarborough
  • Nael ALWARASANEH, age 36 of Burlington
  • Abdelrahman HASAN, age 28 of Brantford
  • Saif HASAN, age 20 of Brantford

The accused were released from custody and are scheduled to appear before the Ontario Court of Justice in Toronto on Monday, June 9, 2025.