A joint operation between the province’s police force and the Ministry of Finance has seized a hefty sum of illegal cigarettes.

Over two days, officers conducted traffic stops in Haldimand and Brant County.

The first bust they made, on April 22, was tiny.

Officers say they nabbed a 62-year-old transporting two cases and 14 cartons.

The man from St. Catharines was charged under the Tobacco Tax Act.

However, the second day of the operation proved to be much more bountiful.

On April 25, a 40-year-old man from Brantford was charged under the same act and had his trailer impounded after police found him to be in possession of 42,000 cartons of unmarked cigarettes.

Police say that they confiscated the contraband, charged a 40-year-old from Brantford and impounded his trailer.

With an average of 200 cigarettes per carton, that winds up being 8.4 million in unmarked cigarettes.

“The tax loss to the Province of Ontario is estimated at $1,556,112.30, calculated at $0.18475 per cigarette,” police say.

“Similarly, the tax loss to His Majesty the King is estimated at $1,396,163.32, calculated at $0.16576 per cigarette. The total tax loss recovered from the seizure amounts to $2,952,275.63.”