Contraband Cigarette Trade Hit By Border Dispute

Shops selling native cigarettes in Kanesatake reserve. Ottawa announced Wednesday a new plan to fight illegal cigarettes smuggling. John Mahoney/Canwest News Service

From The CBC:

Prices for contraband cigarettes have doubled and supplies have dwindled in eastern Ontario and western Quebec since a border post at Cornwall, Ont., was moved due to a dispute with local Akwesasne Mohawks.

"The local suppliers or dealers in Cornwall or other cities like Ottawa — they're are at the bottom of the list for the product," said RCMP Sgt. Michael Harvey. "The priority is to get it to other aboriginal communities and their smoke-shacks, where they are then selling it to Montreal and larger cities."

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