A Canadian police officer and two others were arrested and charged with being part of a "major cheese-smuggling ring." Constable Scott Heron of the Niagara Regional Police and his two partners were charged with conspiracy, smuggling and other customs violations for allegedly transporting over $200,000 of cheese into Canada from the United States without paying any taxes.

"The network involved the purchasing of cases of cheese and other food items and transporting these cases into Canada, without declaring the items or paying duty," police said.

The arrests occurred after a nine-month police operation, including an internal cheese smuggling investigation at the Niagara Regional Police department.

Local restaurants were quick to defend their cheeses' origins.

A pizzeria owner west of Niagara Falls told CBC that he had been questioned by police over the issue, but assured them he had not bought any contraband dairy. "We get all our stuff legit," said the restaurateur. "We thought it was a joke at first. Who is going to go around trying to sell smuggled cheese?"

The answer? Crooked Canadian cops.

All told, the trio made a profit of 165,000 Canadian dollars, which translates to roughly $168,000 in U.S. money.

In keeping with stereotypes about the neighboring countries, it's worth noting that the corrupt cops were only smuggling cheese from the States because it's so absurdly cheap here, to the point that you could make $168,000 in nine months just by driving it across the Canadian border.

[Image via Shutterstock]