On Thursday April 1 at approximately 6:30 p.m., a member of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) East Region Highway Safety Division was conducting enforcement on Hwy 401 in the Town of Greater Napanee when the officer noted a vehicle travelling in an erratic manner.
The officer conducted a traffic stop on the vehicle and, while interacting with the driver, the officer observed a case of unmarked cigarettes. During the course of the investigation into the cigarettes, the officer discovered evidence of further criminal activity, including several forged identification documents and the driver of the vehicle was placed under arrest.
As a result of the investigation, a 29-year-old of Anjou, Quebec, has been charged with:
- 17 counts of possession of fraudulent identity documents;
- 6 Counts of possession of a fraudulent credit card;
- Traffic in a credit card;
- Trafficking in a forged document ;
- 17 counts possession of a forged document; and
- Trafficking in contraband tobacco, all contrary to the Criminal Code of Canada.
Additionally, the accused was further charged with:
- Possession of unmarked cigarettes for the purpose of sale; and
- Possession of unmarked cigarettes, both contrary to the Tobacco Tax Act.
The accused was held in police custody and appeared at a virtual bail hearing in the Ontario Court of Justice in Greater Napanee on Friday April 2. He was released from custody following the hearing and will appear again in court on April 27, 2021.