The Buzz · St. John's Morning Wire

They found 4 million cigarettes past Labrador City. What gives?

You won't believe what they found on da Trans-Labrador Highway

Whaddya at, b'y — this is St. John's, oldest city in North America, and we're still here. Let's go.

I'll tell ya one thing, b'y, you think you've heard it all, and den somethin' like dis pops up. An overturned tractor-trailer, way out past Labrador City, on da Trans-Labrador Highway. Now, dat's a long haul, a proper journey, and you figure maybe it's just a bad skid, or somethin' mechanical, right? Nah, b'y. Da RCMP shows up and finds not just a bit of a mess, but somethin' else entirely. We're talkin' four million contraband cigarettes. Four million! Dat's enough to keep half da province puffin' for a good while, if ya ask me.

### Smuggler's Run to St. John's?

Now, you gotta wonder, where were dese goin'? Were dey headed all da way down to da Narrows, maybe offloaded somewhere near da Battery or up Water Street? Or was it just a big ol' delivery for some outport? It's like somethin' right out of a rum-running story from da old days, but wit' cigarettes instead of booze. It reminds ya dat even out in da middle of nowhere, on one of da wildest roads in Canada, dere's always somethin' else goin' on under da surface. It’s a stark reminder dat while we're all here enjoyin' da sights from Signal Hill or grabbin' some fish and chips at Ches's, dere's a whole other world of goin's-on, b'y.

Here's da lowdown:

* **Da Incident:** A tractor-trailer overturned on da Trans-Labrador Highway, east of Labrador City. * **Da Discovery:** RCMP found approximately four million contraband cigarettes inside. * **Da Investigation:** An active investigation is now underway into da whole mess.

Dis ain't just a Labrador story, b'y. Dis kinda stuff impacts da whole province. It's revenue dat ain't goin' to da province, which means less for our schools, less for our hospitals, and less for da things dat keep St. John's runnin' smooth, from da buses on da hill to da lights on George Street. It's a reminder dat crime ain't just somethin' you see on da news from away; it's here, on our roads, on our doorstep, and sometimes, it takes an overturned truck to bring it all to light.

Deirdre Molloy-Waddleton, MiTL Sports Desk.

You'll hear more about dis, I'm sure, on da Morning Wire wit' Keith — tune in at mornings.live.

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