A British Columbia man was apprehended with thousands of unstamped cigarettes near Gull Lake last year and is facing a fine that could take him the rest of his life to pay off.
Michael Weins was arrested on Nov. 16, 2023, after Swift Current Rural RCMP pulled over a speeding semi and subsequently uncovered illegal cargo in the form of over 42,000 cartons of unstamped cigarettes.
The 47-year-old entered into a joint submission on November 6 at the Swift Current Provincial Courthouse with a guilty plea that resulted in a $2.68 million restitution fine.
Weins agreed to monthly payments to the Federal Crown with a minimum payment of $500 per month beginning December 15.
Although his sentence resulted in no jail time, the honourable Juge A. Jacobson commented that Weins would be paying off the fine for a very long time.