From: TheBayNet.com
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (May 11, 2017) — Agents from the Comptroller of Maryland’s Field Enforcement Division (FED) assisted Maryland State Police and the Henrico County (Va.) Police Department, as well as federal and state law enforcement agencies, in a nearly two-year investigation of illegal cigarette trafficking.
FED agents assisted Maryland State Police in the arrest of four men following traffic stops in Cecil, Harford and Prince George’s counties. Officers confiscated 23,840 packs of contraband cigarettes with a value of $153,767, representing a tax loss to Maryland of $47,680. More than 20 local, state and federal agencies were involved in the two-state probe, which resulted in 43 arrests and 743 indictments.
“I’m very proud of the work my Field Enforcement Division officers do each and every day to safeguard the State of Maryland and its citizens from those who try to cheat the system,” Comptroller Peter Franchot said. “Be it assisting other law enforcement agencies in a large investigation of this sort or catching fraudsters trying to take money out of Maryland taxpayers’ pockets, my team of investigators is vigilant in their quest to do what is right.”
Each arrest in Maryland and its documentation was forwarded to the Henrico County Police Department. The arrests in Maryland include:
