Mounties light up Que. contraband cigarette ring

RCMP officers raided several buildings across Quebec's Eastern Townships and Montrgie regions Wednesday morning to dismantle a suspected contraband cigarette ring.

At least six people were arrested during the raids, which netted half a million cigarettes, hundreds of bags of loose tobacco, vehicles and thousands of dollars in cash, the RCMP said.

Seventy officers were part of the sting operation which capped a year-long investigation into the ring, which was allegedly peddling cigarettes originating in the Kahnawake Mohawk reserve.

"They were made in the Kahnawake reserve, and they were basically distributed around Sherbrooke and the Eastern Townships region," said RCMPCpl. Elaine Lavergne.

A carton of the contraband cigarettes would go for about $20 a bargain compared to regular retail cigarettes,which cost about $50 dollars more per carton.

Contraband cigarettes are widely accepted in Quebec but people should be wary of buying them, Lavergne said.

"Most of the time [the suspects] will invest his money in other crimes," he said. "In the past, money was even invested in terrorism."

The suspects face charges of conspiracy, possession of proceeds of a crime and gangsterism.