Michael Lalonde of St. Andrews, Ontario has been fined $ 51,721 after being convicted of possessing 418,800 unmarked cigarettes for the purposes of sale.

The Ministry of Revenue's Special Investigations Branch charged Lalonde after the OPP stopped a vehicle for attempting to avoid a R.I.D.E. program check on December 26, 2007 and discovered the unmarked cigarettes. The cigarettes were immediately seized by police and later forfeited to the Province.

Lalonde pleaded guilty to the charge under the Tobacco Tax Act on July 2nd. He must also pay a $12,930 surcharge to the Victims' Justice Fund.

The Government of Ontario has many enforcement measures to discourage the sale of contraband tobacco. The Tobacco Tax Act has been strengthened with new inspection and seizure powers, new offence provisions, increased fines and civil penalties, and provisions that permit tax investigators to share intelligence information with police and other agencies that enforce tobacco-related laws. Through steps taken in four of the last five Ontario Budgets, the government has strengthened enforcement against the illegal manufacture and sale of tobacco products.

In Ontario over the past two years, approximately 54.4 million contraband cigarettes have been seized by Ministry investigators and inspectors.

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