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Dwayne Zacharie, Kahnawake’s chief peacekeeper, said investigators from Quebec contacted his police force early Wednesday and said they had arrest warrants for three members of the tribe, including White. Zacharie said his office informed the three suspects of the warrants and told them to contact Quebec police.

It was unclear whether White was among those taken into custody on Wednesday. An attorney for White didn’t return a phone call requesting comment.

Lieutenant Jason Allard, spokesman for the Quebec provincial police, said the tobacco operation was tightly organized. It bought shipments of tobacco leaf in North Carolina, trucking them north and reselling them in Canada. Profits from tobacco were used to purchase cocaine, and some of the money was laundered abroad, in Europe, he said. The tobacco shipments were not declared at the border and disclosed to government officials, thereby avoiding taxes and allowing the cigarettes to be manufactured and sold for less money. Baggies of 200 cigarettes can be purchased for $5 at Native smoke shops on the U.S. side of the border.

The arrests took place in 70 raids at residences and shops in Montreal and surrounding areas, as well as in Ontario, police said. Almost 700 Canadian and U.S. police were involved in the bust, according to a statement from Frederick Gaudreau, an investigator at the Surete du Quebec.

Zacharie said no searches or arrests took place on Kahnawake territory in connection with the investigation.

Police seized more than 52,800 kilograms of tobacco, 836 kilos of cocaine, 21 kilos of methamphetamine, 100 grams of fentanyl and 35 pounds of marijuana, police said.

The smuggling operation deprived the Quebec and Canadian governments of more than C$530 million in taxes, police said.