EXCLUSIVE: Former police officer applauds Alberta’s anti-illicit tobacco strategy

A 30-year Winnipeg Police veteran commends a new initiative to educate Albertan consumers on how to identify contraband tobacco.

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A 30-year Winnipeg Police veteran commends a joint Alberta initiative between law enforcement and the Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis Agency aimed at educating Albertans on identifying contraband tobacco and its negative impact on public services and safety.

Ron Bell, a police veteran and former manager of the Tobacco Interdiction Unit for Manitoba for a decade, told Juno News the joint initiative by the Alberta RCMP and others will help defund organized crime and make Alberta safer.

Bell now works in illicit trade prevention for Rothmans, Benson & Hedges, a major Canadian tobacco producer. Bell said the initiative correctly identifies organized crime as a primary trafficker of illegal tobacco.

“It’s not just about illegal tobacco. Illegal tobacco is a really sought-after commodity within organized crime groups in Canada,” he said. “Because of the profit margin, it can be more profitable than selling cocaine. You’re not just buying illegal cigarettes. If you are going to buy illegally, you’re supporting organized crime. It’s a violent marketplace.”

He warned that wherever organized crime is involved, criminals bring further illegal activities, including guns, drugs and human trafficking. He noted several instances of trucks being stopped at the border carrying illicit tobacco alongside guns and drugs, stating the illicit trade in tobacco goes hand in hand with more dangerous activities.

“It brings violence, and that’s why you can’t just run the campaign and leave it alone. The great thing about what’s happened in Alberta is the units that are responsible for investigating it, they’ve increased the number of investigators. They’re not going to be gone after this campaign is gone,” Bell said. “They’re going to be continuing to investigate tobacco, to do compliance checks, and that hopefully will start to deter people, because they’re going to realize you’re going to get caught. You’re not bulletproof when you’re involved in illegal tobacco.”

Bell noted the plan involving the three organizations will inform people how to identify illicit tobacco, its harms to public services through lost tax revenue, its potential health and safety risks, and the potential consequences for engaging in the trade. Through Crime Stoppers, a tip line allows community members to report suspected illicit tobacco sales and receive rewards, while the Alberta RCMP will provide enforcement resources.

“I see people, I have friends, casual acquaintances, that are smoking illegal cigarettes, like they’re not even eligible for sale in Canada, and they don’t even know they’re not even aware of that, like their mindset is, instead of paying $20 I can buy these in a back alley for $8,” he said. “They say ‘I’m just cheating the tax man.’ Some people don’t realize they’re outright illegal, that they could get a fine, they could face a penalty. They don’t understand that.”

He said in his hometown of Winnipeg, stores known to trade in illicit tobacco were extorted because organized crime knew the businesses had a significant income that was “off the books.”

“There was a group of individuals that were going around extorting them for protection money, and then we had a rash of fires. They say ‘you’re going to pay us $100 a week in protection money. You’re just going to have to sell more cigarettes. If you don’t do that, well, then we’re going to burn down your store,’” Bell said. “That’s what happened in Winnipeg. We had four stores and a warehouse that were set on fire. The people who were arrested, they weren’t just Winnipeggers. One was from Montreal, and one was from Toronto.”

The AGLC website states that over the past five years, the Alberta government has seen a drop of over $500 million in tobacco tax revenue. Bell said Canada lost an estimated $1.4 billion in 2024 due to illegal tobacco and predicted that 2025 would see at least $1.5 billion in lost tax revenue.

Bell explained that by calculating the number of Canadians who smoke, the average number of cigarettes smokers use per day, and comparing it to the actual tax revenue received from tobacco, governments can estimate lost revenue.

“When people complain about the lack of health-care facilities, beds, etc., the government is limited by the amount of money they have at hand to pay the bills,” he said. “But when you look at what they’re losing from the illegal market, now suddenly Alberta woke up and realized ‘we’re losing a lot of money. We have to make this undesirable.’”

Bell said beyond reporting lines and awareness campaigns, governments can do more to prevent the illicit trade of tobacco. He said there ought to be a “coordination centre” where police departments can report arrests and investigative work to improve coordination between jurisdictions. He also said there should be a uniform fine between provinces to deter illegal trade.