Monthly Archives: April 2012

From: HispanicBusiness.com

James M. Odato

On these flatlands that make up the New York side of Akwesasne — the St. Regis Mohawk reservation — three similar-looking buildings have risen along Frogtown Road. Not counting the tribe’s casino and bingo hall, they are the largest commercial structures around. Inside the first, a red warehouse and factory, are stacks and stacks of hundreds of crates of cigarettes with the brand name Native. At the nearby green structure are stocks of cigarettes called Signal. And in the sprawling tan facility down the street, cartons and cartons of Nations Best and Discount are bunched in packages.

From: Journal Sentinal (Milwaukee, WI)

By Mark Johnson

Nine people have been indicted on charges of engaging in a scheme to transport large quantities of unstamped cigarettes, evading $1 million to $4.6 million in state and local taxes, James L. Santelle, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, announced.

According to the indictment, individuals charged possessed and transported anywhere from one to 182 cases, or from 12,000 to over 2 million cigarettes.

Eight of the nine defendants are from Illinois.

The one Wisconsin resident is Mohammed Mazharuddin, 40, of Oak Creek, who is charged with conspiracy and contraband cigarette trafficking.

From: Gaithersburg Patch

The state comptroller says his office has prosecuted more cases of cigarette smuggling in the last nine months than in the last five years.

By Bryan P. Sears

Cigarette smuggling in Maryland is on the rise, according to Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot.

“We’ve got an epidemic of this smuggling in our state,” Franchot said during a Thursday news conference in Towson with Baltimore County State’s Attorney Scott Shellenberger.

Police confiscated $10,000 in alleged contraband cigarettes during a traffic stop near White Marsh involving a Honda Accord two weeks ago.

From: Baltimore Sun

By Jon Meoli

State’s Attorney for Baltimore County Scott Shellenberger joined forces with Comptroller Peter Franchot on Thursday, April 26, to announce success in prosecuting cigarette smuggling cases in the county.

The two also pledged further enforcement against the crime.

“We have got an epidemic of this illegal contraband smuggling going on through our state,” said Franchot at the morning press conference outside the Circuit Courthouse in Towson, “We’re going to continue a crackdown on this activity because it’s become the go-to crime for not just petty criminals, but for big-time criminal gangs

From: Focus News Agency

Kiev. Ukraine’s customs service said that the amount of smuggled tobacco products in 2011 has increase 3.6 times. The custom officers have confiscated more than 120 million pieces of cigarettes, busting tobacco product smuggling attempts, informs Bagnet.
According to experts, the tendency for increase of the cigarette smuggling will be preserved in 2012, too.

Moldova is leader of smuggled cigarettes in Ukraine. 90% of all confiscated tobacco products in Ukraine are produced in Moldova.