OPP lay charges against 5 GTA men after $2.3M in contraband tobacco seized
More than $2.3 million in contraband tobacco has been seized and five GTA men charged following a 16-month-long OPP investigation.
In January 2024, the OPP Contraband Tobacco Enforcement Team (CTET) began a probe into the suspected trafficking of contraband tobacco, including shisha tobacco and contraband cigarettes, by a GTA network.
On July 4, 2024, CTET executed three search warrants in the GTA that led to the seizure of more than 800 kilos of shisha tobacco, more than 16,000 contraband cigarettes, and $30,000 in Canadian currency.
The tobacco seized has an estimated street value of more than $90,000.
On Oct. 24, 2024, 16 search warrants were executed in Brantford, Burlington, Mississauga, Vaughan and Scarborough and about 19,000 kilos of contraband tobacco, valued at $2.3 million, was seized, as well as electronic devices.
Ali Mallah, 58, of Toronto, was arrested in November 2024 and charged with trafficking contraband tobacco.
In April of this year, four more individuals — Omar Omran, 25, of Scarborough, Nael Alwarasaneh, 36, of Burlington, and Abdelrahman Hasan, 28, and Saif Hasan, 20, both of Brantford — were charged with trafficking contraband tobacco.
The accused were released from custody and are to appear June 9 at the Ontario Court of Justice in Toronto.
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