BUFFALO, N.Y. – More than 10,000 kilograms (22,000 pounds) of undeclared loose leaf tobacco were seized by Canadian border officials earlier this month at the Peace Bridge in Fort Erie, Ontario.
That's the border between Buffalo, N.Y. and Ontario. The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) said a border services officer working at the Peace Bridge Commercial Operations on March 16 referred a tractor trailer with a shipment declared as "automotive parts" for a secondary examination.
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The CBSA said that upon examining the trailer border services officers found 102 boxes of undeclared loose leaf tobacco weighing a total of 10,178 kilograms -- or about 22,400 pounds -- with an estimated value of $1.01 million.
The tobacco was seized and the driver, Robert Wilhelm Gunther, of Kitchener, Ontario, was charged with:
- False or deceptive statements
- Evasion of compliance
- Attempt to smuggle
- Unlawful Possession of Unstamped Tobacco Products