NASCAR Driver Snared in Tobacco Smuggling

The arrest came about after the largest tobacco smuggling bust in North America.

April 01, 2016

QUEBEC, Canada – NASCAR driver Derek White has been arrested in connection with the biggest tobacco smuggling ring in North America, NBC Sports reports. White, who turned himself in on Wednesday, faces seven charges related to tobacco smuggling. White, who is a Native American from Canada, drove in 13 Xfinity races in 2015.

The bust took place after a two-year investigation by Canadian officials, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and Homeland Security. Close to 60 individuals have been arrested so far, and around 70 searches happened March 30.

Sgt. Daniel Thibaudeau with the Quebec Provincial Police revealed nearly 160 transports of contraband tobacco from North Carolina to Canada during the 2014-2016 investigation. That translated into around 2,200 tons of tobacco, which would have meant approximately $530 in unpaid Canadian taxes.

The items seized as a result of Wednesday’s searches included more than $1.5 million Canadian in cash and more than $3 million U.S. in cash. “The MYGALE project is the largest ever made to date in America on tobacco smuggling, but also on cross-border crime between Canada and the United States,” Captain Frédérick Gaudreau, chief of the crime investigation against the State of the Sûreté du Québec, said in a statement about the bust.

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