Fight brews over $34K in cash discovered during large seizure of cigarettes

Richard Cuthbertson · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 07, 2025 3:15 PM EST | Last Updated: 5 minutes ago

The Nova Scotia authorities wants $34,895 successful currency discovered by constabulary during a ample seizure of cigarettes turned implicit to the province, but 1 of the men arrested successful the contraband baccy lawsuit is indicating he's consenting to combat successful tribunal to get his wealth back.

Samuel Peter Blakeley, 42, was 1 of two radical charged with baccy offences successful May 2023 aft RCMP pulled implicit a pickup motortruck connected Highway 104 successful Antigonish County and recovered what constabulary accidental were 150,000 amerciable cigarettes packed successful boxes successful the back.

The baccy charges against the men were aboriginal withdrawn, but the state is inactive seeking to person the ample sum of currency recovered during the roadside stop forfeited arsenic proceeds of transgression nether the Civil Forfeiture Act.

Blakeley appeared by telephone this week successful Nova Scotia Supreme Court successful Halifax and suggested each the wealth astatine involvement was his.

"This is simply a substance of maine getting my wealth back," helium said.

Under Nova Scotia's forfeiture law, it's inactive imaginable for a justice to find determination was unlawful enactment and bid the forfeiture of spot adjacent if the idiosyncratic was acquitted, the charges withdrawn oregon determination were nary charges laid astatine all.

A spokesperson for the Public Prosecution Service of Nova Scotia said the charges against Blakeley and a 2nd man, Mihai Valentin Stoicheci, 55, were withdrawn due to the fact that "there was nary realistic imaginable of conviction."

$100 bills

Blakeley did not respond to an interrogation petition sent by email. He did not bespeak successful tribunal wherefore helium was travelling with a ample magnitude of cash.

According to tribunal filings, the currency included dozens of $100 bills, on with $50, $20 and $5 denominations. It is presently being held by RCMP.

An affidavit from the RCMP serviceman who pulled the pickup motortruck implicit successful 2023 said his hunt of a constabulary database indicated that Blakeley was allegedly a fishy successful a fig of contraband baccy cases.

The hunt besides indicated Stoicheci had a grounds for fraud and cause offences. The tribunal heard this week that Stoicheci whitethorn present beryllium successful Romania.

The lawsuit returns to tribunal successful April.