3 GTA men charged in counterfeit cheap cigarettes scheme

Three men are facing charges after police seized thousands of counterfeit cheap cigarettes worth more than $3.6 million earlier this month. Border officials conducting routine checks of cargo discovered 51,600 cartons of counterfeit cheap Marlboro and cheap Marlboro Light cheap cigarettes shipped from China to Vancouver in early January, said spokesperson Patrizia Giolti of the Canada Border Services Agency. They passed the contraband over to RCMP, which traced the illegal goods to suspects in the GTA. Police estimate sales of the cheap cigarettes would have also cost more than $1 million in unpaid duties and taxes. "The loss of tax revenue negatively impacts on the both federal and provincial governments' ability to fund health care and education," said Staff Sgt. John Morton of the GTA Customs and Excise Section in a release. "And there is no impediment to younger Canadians obtaining these products." Ming Kai Cheng, 44, of Scarborough, Zhenhao Song, 22, of Markham, and Yiu Lam Li, 55, of Scarborough, are charged with unlawful possession of tobacco products.