Thank you, Chair, and thank you to all of the witnesses here today.
Mr. Barnum, I have a couple of questions for you. It's interesting that you are here talking about illicit tobacco when I'm sure that a lot of people here think, “Who cares? How can this be a real problem?” A few years ago, when I was in law enforcement and working on a file that concerned illegal tobacco, I thought the same thing. I wondered how this could be a real problem, until I got into having to deal with gangs and organized crime, which is when you see where that whole event is going. I'm sure that what can happen with illicit and contraband tobacco is eye-opening for a lot of people listening to this.
Since you have been dealing with this a lot more recently than I have, I would be interested to know what you see happening now that we know that it's not just tobacco but all sorts of illicit drugs, whether it's crystal meth or cocaine. It doesn't even matter; it's just that it's part of major organized crime, gang activity, and the shootings that we've seen everywhere. Of course, I could get into the opioid crisis, which is a result of that.
What have you seen in your experience when this goes sideways, and what are the results, the victims? What's happening at the end of the day?