Contraband

Contraband products can be a threat to your health and safety. Organized crime is deeply involved in smuggling guns and tobacco products into Canada. In both cases, innocent people are the victims.

Guns

Canadian laws make it hard for criminals to acquire firearms. So they turn to stealing them or smuggling them across the border from the United States. Often, organized crime groups sell these firearms to local street gangs. These street gangs may use them in robberies or street violence. Innocent people have been killed and injured by the criminals and their contraband firearms.

Tobacco

Some Canadians are turning to contraband tobacco. The price may be lower but the quality of these tobacco products can be poor and potentially more harmful than tobacco products in general.

Smuggled tobacco products enter Canada largely through Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia. For example, they may be hidden in private cars or commercial trucks going through border entry points. Or, they can cross at an unmanned border point in all-terrain vehicles and snowmobiles. Or, they may slip into Canada aboard boats or airplanes.