Trucker Busted For Smuggling Cheese Ordered To Pay More Than $22,000

Lansdowne, Ontario – A truck driver has been fined Can$30,000 ($22,230 USD) for attempting to smuggle cheese into Canada.

According to a release from the Canadian Border Service Agency (CBSA), 50-year-old truck driver, Haissam Azaar, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to pay a fine of Can$30,000 stemming from an incident on January 10, 2018, at the Lansdowne (Thousand Islands) port of entry in Ontario.

CBSA referred Mr. Azaar’s tractor-trailer for a secondary examination where officers found eight skids of undeclared cheese in his truck which totalled nearly 3,990 kg.

A truck driver pleaded guilty to smuggling cheese and was sentenced to pay a Can$30,000 fine over the next 5 years. (Courtesy of CBSA)

Azaar was arrested and charged with smuggling under section 159 of the Customs Act.

On May 9, 2019, he appeared in court in Brockville, Ontario and was sentenced to pay the whopping fine.

The court is requiring Mr. Azaar to render payment in full over a period of five years with a minimum $1,000 payment per year.

No matter how you slice it, that’s a lot of cheese! Couldn’t resist.

In a statement, CBSA reminded travelers how seriously they treat such matters.

“The CBSA reminds all travelers to truthfully declare all goods when entering Canada,” said CBSA. “Failure to report all goods, undervaluation, and other Customs Act contraventions may lead to seizure action and/or criminal prosecution in a court of law.”

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