Canadian officials catch nearly 9K pounds of illegal cheese

LANSDOWNE, Ontario (WWNY) - Canadian border officials confiscated more than four tons of cheese someone tried to smuggle into that country and the man responsible was ordered to pay a sizable fine.

Canadian officials says 50-year-old Haissam Azaar tried drive a truckload of about 8,800 pounds of cheese into Canada at the Thousand Island crossing in January 2018.

He was arrested, charged with smuggling, and pleaded guilty to the charge earlier this month.

Azaar was ordered to pay a $30,000 fine in Canadian dollars.