RCMP officers searched the Montreal headquarters of Imperial Tobacco Canada Friday, as part of an investigation into cigarette smuggling in the 1990s.

Imperial, which markets such brands as duMaurier, Player's and Matinee, said it was co-operating with investigators, although it added that from "a legal standpoint," it "is not 'consenting' to the search."

Imperial said the search warrant involved documents on its activities between 1989 and 1994. The RCMP did not confirm this.

Officials have been probing allegations that cigarette makers were involved in a wave of smuggling in the early 1990s when high taxes were imposed on tobacco in provinces including Ontario and Quebec.

The company said it was not expecting the raid.

"The company is surprised about suspicions that it was in any way linked to smuggling activities in the early 1990s, because of the extensive collaboration that existed at that time with the RCMP in the investigation of smuggling activities," Imperial said in a statement.

The company said its co-operation included allowing police to use one of its trucks as bait in a sting operation to catch smugglers.

In 2003, the RCMP charged JTI-Macdonald and eight former executives in connection with alleged cigarette smuggling in the early 1990s. JTI-Macdonald has denied the charges.

It's alleged the smuggling involved Canadian-made cigarettes that were shipped to the United States, where the taxes were not levied, and then returned to Canada and sold on the black market. It forced the taxes to be rolled back in 1994.

Imperial Tobacco spokesperson Christina Dona says her company has "nothing to be ashamed of."

"We're proud of our ethical behavior, we have nothing to be ashamed of," she told CFCF News.