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Canada catches unique contraband: Chinese cigarettes
The value of nearly 4 million individual cigarettes seized is CAD 2 Million
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Prabhjot Paul Singh - Sat, 25, Oct 2025
- 00:13 EDT
- 20
CBSA Border Services Officers seize 19,982 cartons of cigarettes. / CBSA Border Services
The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) has been in the news for both good and bad reasons. While the Members of the House of Commons, especially the Opposition Conservatives, have been training guns at the ruling Liberals and the RCMP and the CBSA for rampant smuggling of contrabands across international borders, the CBSA has made a startling contraband seizure recently – Chinese cigarettes.
On September 15, Border Services Officers at the Burnaby Container Examination Facility examined a shipment from China declared as electric fans. The container was referred for examination based upon intelligence shared with the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) by our law enforcement partners in the United States and China.
During the exam, the container was found to contain 216 boxes packed with 19,982 cartons of cigarettes. The value of nearly 4 million individual cigarettes seized is CAD 2,205,613.16, and the duties and taxes evaded is assessed at CAD 2,499,348.56.
In addition to damaging the Canadian economy, profits from the illegal tobacco trade often help finance other organised crime activities, such as human trafficking, firearms, and drug smuggling. All offenders are liable to sanctions and legal proceedings.
“The money smugglers make from selling contraband goods like the cigarettes seized in Burnaby is fuel for organised crime. I have seen the work of our CBSA officers up close, and I want to thank them for their efforts in protecting our borders and ensuring the safety and well-being of our communities,” says Gary Anandasangaree, Minister of Public Safety
Meanwhile, Nina Patel, Regional Director General, Canada Border Services Agency, Pacific Region, said, “The efforts of our border services officers, intelligence officers and investigators have disrupted illegal trade, which harms our communities and local businesses.”
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