On Tuesday, May 9, 2017 at approximately 4 p.m. officers with the EPS Hospitality Policing Unit and West Division Beats team executed a search warrant at a business in the area of 117 Avenue and 124 Street.
Officers located and seized 100 kg of illegal tobacco and 20 kg of khat with a total estimated street value of $36,000. The illegal tobacco seized amounted to an estimated $51,000 in uncollected provincial and federal taxes.
“Selling untaxed tobacco is a type of illegal trafficking and can contribute to other forms of crime,” says Sgt Colin Simpson with the Hospitality Policing Unit. “Seizures of these illegal substances undoubtedly helps to keep our communities safe.”
Yosef Tesfay Dema, 33, is charged with selling untaxed tobacco (x3), possession for purpose of trafficking, proceeds of crime and fraud over $5,000.