N.B. police seize 4.3 million contraband cigarettes in four weeks, officials say
Authorities in New Brunswick have seized millions of contraband cigarettes representing $1.1 million in lost tax revenue in the months since the provincial Liberal government boosted funding aimed at shutting down illicit tobacco and cannabis sales.
Officers from various police agencies intercepted more than 4.3 million illicit cigarettes in three major investigations during a four-week period in May and June, officials said Wednesday.
Justice and Public Safety Department peace officers say they have seized more than eight million contraband cigarettes in New Brunswick so far during 2026, worth approximately $3.72 million in missed tax revenue for the provincial and federal governments.
Public Safety Minister Robert Gauvin said the seizures are not only about taking illegal products off the streets and recovering tax revenue for the government, but also tackling criminal activity.
“The illegal tobacco trade is often connected to organized crime and other criminal activity that can threaten the safety and well-being of our communities,” Gauvin said during a news conference in Fredericton.
“When law enforcement disrupts these operations, they are not only taking illegal products off the streets — they are helping to address broader criminal networks and protect New Brunswickers.”
The department's Inspection and Enforcement Branch worked with other agencies and jurisdictions to arrest four people involved with the contraband cigarettes, authorities said.
Police also seized three pickup trucks, a Remington 12-gauge shotgun and other weapons, an enclosed cargo trailer and cannabis products.
Three of the alleged smugglers are from New Brunswick, while one 32-year-old is from Ontario, police said. They are facing various charges under the federal Criminal Code, the Excise Act and the Tobacco Tax Act.
Last year, the Inspection and Enforcement Branch seized a total of 2,270,675 illegal cigarettes, according to figures provided by a Justice and Public Safety Department spokesperson. In 2024, it was 2,104,845.
Over a decade ago, then-premier Brian Gallant’s Liberal government created a dedicated contraband enforcement unit within the public safety department.
But the Progressive Conservatives under Premier Blaine Higgs cut funding to the unit in 2019, saying it was too expensive and that the same tasks could be handled by standard officers.
A study by EY Canada estimated that contraband tobacco accounted for 52% of the New Brunswick market between 2019 and 2023, costing the province millions of dollars in uncollected taxes every year.
Premier Susan Holt's government in its 2026-27 budget set aside $1.2 million to create a dedicated contraband tobacco enforcement team to go after the operations of organized crime. Gauvin said that job is now handled by about 15 investigators from the department's Safer Community section.
Glen Savoie, interim leader of New Brunswick's Progressive Conservatives, said the Higgs government led Atlantic Canada on enforcement and seizures "without the cigarette squad."
"Susan Holt proves again she can spend more precious taxpayer dollars to get results that are no better and usually much worse," Savoie said in a statement.
However, Inspection and Enforcement Branch Sgt. Jonathan Breau said Wednesday the extra funding has allowed provincial public safety officers to focus on tracking the illicit cigarettes.
READ: Tobacco maker cites record seizures in push for national nicotine crackdown
Danny Fournier, a former police officer who has over three decades of experience in contraband enforcement in Quebec, said contraband enforcement can create a net positive financial return on the investment to fund the work.
He said that, for example, a provincial government will typically fine an offender three times the evaded tax, which leads to a tax assessment that allows authorities to confiscate and later sell assets such as vehicles and property.
"It is a preventative approach that yields the results," said Fournier, now the director of Illicit trade prevention at the private Toronto-based firm Rothmans, Benson and Hedges Inc.
He added the eight million cigarettes New Brunswick police have seized in the last seven months would be a big loss for a criminal organization that likely would have made a net profit of about $700,000 from all the shipments combined.
Officials on Wednesday did not specify who or where the illicit products came from, citing an ongoing investigation. However, Gauvin said New Brunswick officers worked with the Ontario Ministry of Finance, Quebec provincial police and RCMP to make the arrests.
By funding the contraband enforcement work and stopping the smugglers, Fournier said, New Brunswick is playing its part in a regional and national effort to disrupt criminal networks.
"These partnerships and this collaboration is crucial because it's an illicit supply chain network. Some of it ends or stops in New Brunswick, but some of it continues on to Atlantic Canada."
In neighbouring Nova Scotia, the Progressive Conservatives have ordered a strict enforcement crackdown on unlicensed cannabis dispensaries on First Nations reserves, triggering protests from some Indigenous communities.
When asked by multiple reporters if New Brunswick also plans to carry out raids as part of its recently expanded contraband enforcement efforts, officials said police track illegal sales wherever they might be.
Gauvin, who also represents the eastern riding of Shediac Bay-Dieppe, said his government’s approach to illicit cannabis sales is about education as well as enforcement.
“If we can have someone comply with the legislation, that takes investigation away from the court system and it would be part of the solution,” he said.
He added his government is "trying to make a statement that we are invested in" cracking down on unregulated sales.
Fredericton Police Chief Gary Forward, who represents his counterparts across the province as president of the chiefs association, said officers “investigate crime, not people.”
“I can’t really comment on where we do enforcement, unfortunately, because those are ongoing files."
