RCMP seized about 220,000 contraband cigarettes from a pickup truck on the Trans Canada Highway near Salisbury on Thursday night.

A 26-year-old Moncton man is facing charges under the federal Excise Act and provincial Tobacco Tax Act.

He is scheduled to appear in Moncton provincial court on Friday afternoon.

"Disrupting the illegal traffic of contraband cigarettes to New Brunswick is a priority for the RCMP Federal Operations East Section because much of the contraband tobacco is produced in other provinces and then transported here," Staff Sgt. André Potvin stated in a news release.

The investigation continues.