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Hope BC Feb. 15 Report Part 2.
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GregCarr
Feb 15, 2024, 10:52:20 PMFeb 15
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Lots of illegal cigarettes here in Hope half the discarded cigarette packs are for Rolled Gold and Canadian Native. Guy on Wallace St flashed me a pack of bootleg cigarettes the other day.
Multi-city probe leads to largest ever single seizure of contraband cigarettes in B.C.
This investigation resulted in the largest one-time seizure of contraband cigarettes in B.C. (CityNews Image)
By Aastha Pandey-Kanaan
Posted February 13, 2024 8:31 pm. Last Updated February 14, 2024 12:09 am.
Four suspects have been arrested after police say a multi-jurisdiction investigation led to the province’s largest one-time seizure of contraband cigarettes.
The investigation into alleged drug and contraband tobacco trafficking was carried out by the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit of B.C. (CFSEU-BC).
In August 2023, the CFSEU-BC says it received information about an the trafficking network, and its investigation quickly expanded into multiple jurisdictions around the Lower Mainland, and Vancouver Island.
Investigators say they determined that the suspects involved in the trafficking were connected to gangs and organized crime.
In late January, the CFSEU-BC, with help from partner police agencies, executed seven search warrants in Langley, Abbotsford, Surrey and Victoria.
The search warrant resulted in the seizure of the following items:
32 firearms including handguns, assault rifles, and shotguns;
Large quantity of ammunition;
Body armor;
10 pallets of contraband liquor;
35 pallets of contraband cigarettes, with an approximate retail value of $11,000,000;
Approximately a half kilogram of cocaine;
80 Kg of marijuana;
Hydraulic cocaine press and other drug paraphernalia consistent with drug trafficking;
8 Vehicles, including a stolen Porsche Cayenne;
1 speedboat
The CFSEU-BC says its ability to work with partner agencies across multiple jurisdictions allows them to target gang members and groups who impact public safety in multiple communities.
The four suspects have now been released, pending the judicial processes.
https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2024/02/13/cfseu-bc-arrests-four-suspects-tobacco-trafficking/ Remember when pot head Trudeau said legal pot would eliminate the organized crime part of it? The link shows pics of seized guns and cash.
https://vancouversun.com/news/crime/bc-anti-gang-unit-seizes-drugs-contraband-tobacco-and-guns Pic of pallets of seized cigarettes.
https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/b-c-convenience-store-owners-frustrated-by-the-dangerous-increase-in-contraband-tobacco-in-the-okanagan-region-850873427.html The Convienace Store Owners association wants the govt to crack down on illegal cigs. Vernon North Okanagan RCMP recently released details about a traffic stop that led to police seizing nearly 1.5 million contraband cigarettes in Vernon on January 8th.
https://www.biv.com/news/retail-manufacturing/contraband-cigarette-sales-cut-bc-government-revenue-8269274 BC has the highest cig prices in Canada and it says it is losing scores of millions of dollars of tax revenue to smugglers. I quit smoking after 47 tries quit crack and powder cocaine no problem. Tax revenue from legal tobacco sales funds nurses and Dr's pay pays for lung transplants and heart operations and the rent bank and MLA's pensions and keeps the govt suite at BC Place full of liquor.
https://cfjctoday.com/2022/12/16/contraband-tobacco-inhales-30-to-50-per-cent-of-b-c-market-retailers-industry-fear/ This news story speculates 30-50% of the cigs smoked in BC are contraband the problem being bigger outside the Lower Mainland.
https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/rothmans-benson-amp-hedges-inc-congratulates-cfseu-bc-on-massive-contraband-tobacco-bust-877496825.html Rothmans Benson Hedges congratulated the police as do I.
Chilliwack judge dismisses defendant’s arguments as ‘nonsensical bafflegab’
A man was caught excessively speeding on Highway 1 while hauling 16 cases of illegal cigarettes
Eric Welsh Eric Welsh
Apr 26, 2023 1:00 PM
Apr 26, 2023 2:04 PM
32541479_web1_copy_Cigarettes
A man was caught excessively speeding along Highway 1 in Popkum (Greg: An unincorparated area right next to Hope, BC. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Popkum,_British_Columbia 1,032 population.) while transporting 16 cases of cigarettes that are illegal in B.C. (Black Press File).
A man who was caught transporting 50 cartons of illegal cigarettes near Popkum awaits sentencing from B.C. Provincial Court Judge Peter Whyte. On April 5, 2023 Kenneth Jeffrey Cooper was found guilty of two tobacco-related charges plus one count of driving while prohibited. He used some creative arguments as he defended himself at a trial that ran over five days in October, December and January.
Cooper, who told the court he preferred to be called Tiberius Rex or just Tiberius, was pulled over by police on Highway 1 on May 24, 2020. Driving a Mercedes Sprinter panel van, he was clocked at 114 kilometres per hour in a construction zone where the posted speed limit was 60. At trial, the officers testified that Cooper was not forthcoming with his name. When they finally figured out who he was, they found he wasn’t supposed to be driving a vehicle.
They had to impound his van, which is automatic when you’re caught going more than 40 clicks over a posted speed limit, but before it was towed away they had a look inside. They found 16 cases (50 cartons) of Rolled Gold cigarettes, which are illegal to possess in B.C. because they don’t have taxation stamps on the packaging.
Cooper had 160,000 cigarettes, well above the limit of 1,000 imported unstamped cigarettes allowed for personal use. He described himself as an unlicensed cigarette dealer.
At trial, Cooper argued that the search of the van violated his Charter rights and police forced him to hand over the keys when he didn’t want to. Whyte rejected those arguments. Cooper also said police didn’t provide him access to counsel without delay. Whyte agreed with that, and some of the statements Cooper gave to police were ruled inadmissible at trial. (Greg: Hey police give them the phone call to the lawyer you are taught that at the academy and it's on all the TV shows.)
Otherwise, Cooper’s legal defence boiled down to ‘I did it, but the law doesn’t apply to me.’
“He says that as a living man and a natural born human, he possesses certain inalienable rights that transcend the rules and regulations thrust upon him by the corporate entities of British Columbia and/or Canada,” Whyte wrote in his decision. “As I understood him, the defendant’s position was that he was entitled to behave in any way he deemed appropriate, so long as he did not physically hurt anyone.”
Whyte said Cooper was polite and respectful at trial, but described his legal position as untenable, baseless and without merit.
Cooper suggested that as a ‘non-status Native,’ he was entitled to have as many cigarettes as he wished in Canada, because all of Canada is “native land.” Another of Cooper’s arguments was that he was ‘travelling’ in the van and not ‘driving’ the van and therefore was not driving while prohibited, and he argued that because it was Kenneth Cooper behind the wheel and not Tiberius Rex, Tiberius couldn’t be found guilty of something Cooper did.
“I am encouraged to summarily dismiss such arguments as nonsensical bafflegab, and not waste the taxpayer’s money or the court’s time on submissions that have zero chance of success,” Whyte wrote.
Cooper is due back in court June 13 for a pre-sentence report.
https://www.missioncityrecord.com/news/chilliwack-judge-dismisses-defendents-arguments-as-nonsensical-bafflegab-2179249
https://bc.ctvnews.ca/court-dismisses-b-c-man-s-nonsensical-bafflegab-convicts-him-of-driving-tobacco-offences-1.6373126
https://justice.gov.bc.ca/cso/criminal/file/sentences.do?fileID=6181358.0009 He was in court Aug 2023
File Number 70811 odd file number for a smuggler eh? Note the 81? The guy has had 53 court appearances over the years his last one says the outcome was apg whatever that means. No media coverage after the first news story.
Lots of law enforcement in Hope yesterday 4 CVSE officers which is more than I saw in 10 years in Surrey, BC though there are scales outside of town. Various RCMP more than I have seen in Hope in 2 weeks in one day before including the Supervisor white pick up truck and the Yale Fire Dept blocked off part of Third Ave for no obvious reason for a few hours. It is a volunteer fire dept I remember the old Point Roberts Volunteer fire dept shing lights through houses at night and drinking parties on the fire boat. My Uncle was a volunteer fire fighter in Fort Langley for years free parking and free beers at the Langley hotel after a fire. Khronos Security patrols a lot of the local businesses twice asked them direction and got good answers.
https://www.agassizharrisonobserver.com/local-news/video-historic-hope-station-house-officially-on-the-move-7318498 has video. Historic Hope Station was moved 4 blocks today saw the work crew getting ready as I headed to Tim Horton's for breakfast they are hiring.
Hope BC RCMP are trying to figure out who broke into Marlee's Den Cannabis Shop Feb.2 the front door is now wood as the glass was smashed. The suspect had a grey van broke the door at 3:34 AM came back at #:56 AM and then robbed the place. Caucasian male 25-25 years 5 ft 9 inches medium build dark clothes is the description of the suspect. 604-867-7750 to contact Hope RCMP or 1-800-222-8477 for Crime Stoppers. I bought my CBD oil to help me sleep at their competition totally at random https://hopecannabisco.ca/ on 6th Ave. The Silver Chalice Pub is holding a fund raiser for the local vapour shop which also had a break in.
https://www.interior-news.com/news/walking-to-remember-pj-sebastian-6475875 Missing for 12 years. PJ sticker on pole by the Shell station in Hope offers a $11k reward. https://www.cfnrfm.ca/2019/06/03/a-walk-to-remember-pj/ Has a pic of the guy.
One of the cooks at Sharon's Deli keeps saying, "Don't rat out H.A." Good food there one of the tables has a Harley motif. Hours are only 8 am to 2
PM. Rolly's Restaurant which has lots of signs is closed for renovations. Guys with the table which watches the front of the Hope RCMP detachment are representing. I hope (no pun intended) the RCMP have a video on the place. Reminds me of Moms Boucher watching the task force in the mall drinking a coffee.
Nice weather.
Multi-city probe leads to largest ever single seizure of contraband cigarettes in B.C.
This investigation resulted in the largest one-time seizure of contraband cigarettes in B.C. (CityNews Image)
By Aastha Pandey-Kanaan
Posted February 13, 2024 8:31 pm. Last Updated February 14, 2024 12:09 am.
Four suspects have been arrested after police say a multi-jurisdiction investigation led to the province’s largest one-time seizure of contraband cigarettes.
The investigation into alleged drug and contraband tobacco trafficking was carried out by the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit of B.C. (CFSEU-BC).
In August 2023, the CFSEU-BC says it received information about an the trafficking network, and its investigation quickly expanded into multiple jurisdictions around the Lower Mainland, and Vancouver Island.
Investigators say they determined that the suspects involved in the trafficking were connected to gangs and organized crime.
In late January, the CFSEU-BC, with help from partner police agencies, executed seven search warrants in Langley, Abbotsford, Surrey and Victoria.
The search warrant resulted in the seizure of the following items:
32 firearms including handguns, assault rifles, and shotguns;
Large quantity of ammunition;
Body armor;
10 pallets of contraband liquor;
35 pallets of contraband cigarettes, with an approximate retail value of $11,000,000;
Approximately a half kilogram of cocaine;
80 Kg of marijuana;
Hydraulic cocaine press and other drug paraphernalia consistent with drug trafficking;
8 Vehicles, including a stolen Porsche Cayenne;
1 speedboat
The CFSEU-BC says its ability to work with partner agencies across multiple jurisdictions allows them to target gang members and groups who impact public safety in multiple communities.
The four suspects have now been released, pending the judicial processes.
https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2024/02/13/cfseu-bc-arrests-four-suspects-tobacco-trafficking/ Remember when pot head Trudeau said legal pot would eliminate the organized crime part of it? The link shows pics of seized guns and cash.
https://vancouversun.com/news/crime/bc-anti-gang-unit-seizes-drugs-contraband-tobacco-and-guns Pic of pallets of seized cigarettes.
https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/b-c-convenience-store-owners-frustrated-by-the-dangerous-increase-in-contraband-tobacco-in-the-okanagan-region-850873427.html The Convienace Store Owners association wants the govt to crack down on illegal cigs. Vernon North Okanagan RCMP recently released details about a traffic stop that led to police seizing nearly 1.5 million contraband cigarettes in Vernon on January 8th.
https://www.biv.com/news/retail-manufacturing/contraband-cigarette-sales-cut-bc-government-revenue-8269274 BC has the highest cig prices in Canada and it says it is losing scores of millions of dollars of tax revenue to smugglers. I quit smoking after 47 tries quit crack and powder cocaine no problem. Tax revenue from legal tobacco sales funds nurses and Dr's pay pays for lung transplants and heart operations and the rent bank and MLA's pensions and keeps the govt suite at BC Place full of liquor.
https://cfjctoday.com/2022/12/16/contraband-tobacco-inhales-30-to-50-per-cent-of-b-c-market-retailers-industry-fear/ This news story speculates 30-50% of the cigs smoked in BC are contraband the problem being bigger outside the Lower Mainland.
https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/rothmans-benson-amp-hedges-inc-congratulates-cfseu-bc-on-massive-contraband-tobacco-bust-877496825.html Rothmans Benson Hedges congratulated the police as do I.
Chilliwack judge dismisses defendant’s arguments as ‘nonsensical bafflegab’
A man was caught excessively speeding on Highway 1 while hauling 16 cases of illegal cigarettes
Eric Welsh Eric Welsh
Apr 26, 2023 1:00 PM
Apr 26, 2023 2:04 PM
32541479_web1_copy_Cigarettes
A man was caught excessively speeding along Highway 1 in Popkum (Greg: An unincorparated area right next to Hope, BC. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Popkum,_British_Columbia 1,032 population.) while transporting 16 cases of cigarettes that are illegal in B.C. (Black Press File).
A man who was caught transporting 50 cartons of illegal cigarettes near Popkum awaits sentencing from B.C. Provincial Court Judge Peter Whyte. On April 5, 2023 Kenneth Jeffrey Cooper was found guilty of two tobacco-related charges plus one count of driving while prohibited. He used some creative arguments as he defended himself at a trial that ran over five days in October, December and January.
Cooper, who told the court he preferred to be called Tiberius Rex or just Tiberius, was pulled over by police on Highway 1 on May 24, 2020. Driving a Mercedes Sprinter panel van, he was clocked at 114 kilometres per hour in a construction zone where the posted speed limit was 60. At trial, the officers testified that Cooper was not forthcoming with his name. When they finally figured out who he was, they found he wasn’t supposed to be driving a vehicle.
They had to impound his van, which is automatic when you’re caught going more than 40 clicks over a posted speed limit, but before it was towed away they had a look inside. They found 16 cases (50 cartons) of Rolled Gold cigarettes, which are illegal to possess in B.C. because they don’t have taxation stamps on the packaging.
Cooper had 160,000 cigarettes, well above the limit of 1,000 imported unstamped cigarettes allowed for personal use. He described himself as an unlicensed cigarette dealer.
At trial, Cooper argued that the search of the van violated his Charter rights and police forced him to hand over the keys when he didn’t want to. Whyte rejected those arguments. Cooper also said police didn’t provide him access to counsel without delay. Whyte agreed with that, and some of the statements Cooper gave to police were ruled inadmissible at trial. (Greg: Hey police give them the phone call to the lawyer you are taught that at the academy and it's on all the TV shows.)
Otherwise, Cooper’s legal defence boiled down to ‘I did it, but the law doesn’t apply to me.’
“He says that as a living man and a natural born human, he possesses certain inalienable rights that transcend the rules and regulations thrust upon him by the corporate entities of British Columbia and/or Canada,” Whyte wrote in his decision. “As I understood him, the defendant’s position was that he was entitled to behave in any way he deemed appropriate, so long as he did not physically hurt anyone.”
Whyte said Cooper was polite and respectful at trial, but described his legal position as untenable, baseless and without merit.
Cooper suggested that as a ‘non-status Native,’ he was entitled to have as many cigarettes as he wished in Canada, because all of Canada is “native land.” Another of Cooper’s arguments was that he was ‘travelling’ in the van and not ‘driving’ the van and therefore was not driving while prohibited, and he argued that because it was Kenneth Cooper behind the wheel and not Tiberius Rex, Tiberius couldn’t be found guilty of something Cooper did.
“I am encouraged to summarily dismiss such arguments as nonsensical bafflegab, and not waste the taxpayer’s money or the court’s time on submissions that have zero chance of success,” Whyte wrote.
Cooper is due back in court June 13 for a pre-sentence report.
https://www.missioncityrecord.com/news/chilliwack-judge-dismisses-defendents-arguments-as-nonsensical-bafflegab-2179249
https://bc.ctvnews.ca/court-dismisses-b-c-man-s-nonsensical-bafflegab-convicts-him-of-driving-tobacco-offences-1.6373126
https://justice.gov.bc.ca/cso/criminal/file/sentences.do?fileID=6181358.0009 He was in court Aug 2023
File Number 70811 odd file number for a smuggler eh? Note the 81? The guy has had 53 court appearances over the years his last one says the outcome was apg whatever that means. No media coverage after the first news story.
Lots of law enforcement in Hope yesterday 4 CVSE officers which is more than I saw in 10 years in Surrey, BC though there are scales outside of town. Various RCMP more than I have seen in Hope in 2 weeks in one day before including the Supervisor white pick up truck and the Yale Fire Dept blocked off part of Third Ave for no obvious reason for a few hours. It is a volunteer fire dept I remember the old Point Roberts Volunteer fire dept shing lights through houses at night and drinking parties on the fire boat. My Uncle was a volunteer fire fighter in Fort Langley for years free parking and free beers at the Langley hotel after a fire. Khronos Security patrols a lot of the local businesses twice asked them direction and got good answers.
https://www.agassizharrisonobserver.com/local-news/video-historic-hope-station-house-officially-on-the-move-7318498 has video. Historic Hope Station was moved 4 blocks today saw the work crew getting ready as I headed to Tim Horton's for breakfast they are hiring.
Hope BC RCMP are trying to figure out who broke into Marlee's Den Cannabis Shop Feb.2 the front door is now wood as the glass was smashed. The suspect had a grey van broke the door at 3:34 AM came back at #:56 AM and then robbed the place. Caucasian male 25-25 years 5 ft 9 inches medium build dark clothes is the description of the suspect. 604-867-7750 to contact Hope RCMP or 1-800-222-8477 for Crime Stoppers. I bought my CBD oil to help me sleep at their competition totally at random https://hopecannabisco.ca/ on 6th Ave. The Silver Chalice Pub is holding a fund raiser for the local vapour shop which also had a break in.
https://www.interior-news.com/news/walking-to-remember-pj-sebastian-6475875 Missing for 12 years. PJ sticker on pole by the Shell station in Hope offers a $11k reward. https://www.cfnrfm.ca/2019/06/03/a-walk-to-remember-pj/ Has a pic of the guy.
One of the cooks at Sharon's Deli keeps saying, "Don't rat out H.A." Good food there one of the tables has a Harley motif. Hours are only 8 am to 2
PM. Rolly's Restaurant which has lots of signs is closed for renovations. Guys with the table which watches the front of the Hope RCMP detachment are representing. I hope (no pun intended) the RCMP have a video on the place. Reminds me of Moms Boucher watching the task force in the mall drinking a coffee.
Nice weather.
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