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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

Search nets cash, guns, cigarettes

By: Staff Writer

Posted: 02/9/2012 1:00 AM

Three people -- two of them brothers -- are facing charges after cash, a cache of contraband cigarettes and a stack of weapons was discovered in rural Manitoba.

RCMP and investigators with Manitoba Finance searched two homes in the Rural Municipality of Rosser on Feb. 2. Inside, police said they discovered 1.45-million worth of smuggled cigarettes, alongside almost $425,000 in cash.

Police say they also seized three long guns and two loaded handguns.

One 67-year-old man was taken into custody and charged with possessing tobacco that had not been properly imported, as well as numerous charges relating to possessing and improperly storing prohibited and restricted weapons.

A second suspect, a 66-year-old man, is also facing smuggling-related charges under the Excise Act. A 48-year-old woman also faces some charges.

They have been released on a promise to appear.

If convicted of possessing non-Manitoba-marked tobacco, the suspects could face fines of $10,000, a three-month prison stint, or both.

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition February 9, 2012 B3

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