1-year sentence for 4th illegal tobacco conviction

A P.E.I. man has been sentenced to one year in jail and fined $130,000 for his fourth conviction for selling contraband cigarettes.

John Wayne Casford, 65 of Charlottetown, already owes about$260,000 in unpaid fines from his previous convictions.

Casford pleaded guilty to the fourth set of charges in provincial court Monday.

The court heard that RCMP got a warrant last December to look at Casford's cell phone records after they got a tip he was selling contraband cigarettes. Those records showed he was in contact with suppliers in Quebec's Gaspe Peninsula.

An undercover police officer purchased more than 5,000 cigarettes on three occasions from Casford outside a bingo hall in Charlottetown. When the officer placed an order for 30,000 cigarettes, Casford called his suppliers in Quebec and made the trip in a rented van to pick them up.

Island RCMP were waiting for him on his way back. They seized 88,000 contraband cigarettes.

Casford told the judge he's done selling contraband cigarettes.