Monthly Archives: December 2014

From: Triangle Business Journal

Lauren K. Ohnesorge

A Florida tobacco manufacturer’s illegal cigarette sales operation means a $2.2 million payout for North Carolina – but it didn’t come without a fight with the feds.

The owners of Belcorp Tobacco pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiracy to violate the Contraband Cigarette Trafficking Act, as well as to commit fraud, wire fraud, mail fraud and other crimes related to illegal cigarette sales. But, using a forfeiture order in the case, the federal government seized millions of dollars from the company, initially leaving the states without the payout.

From: Heartland.org

Matt Hurley

The Commonwealth of Virginia is considering forcing retailers to get licenses to sell tobacco products, attempting to increase the difficulty of reselling Virginia-purchased tobacco in other states.

Currently, Virginia laws do not restrict to whom wholesalers sell their products, and excise taxes are only applied during retail transactions. The Commonwealth State is one of 14 states without laws requiring cigarette retailers to obtain licensing before selling the products, and also has very low excise taxes on tobacco.

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From: Her.ie

By @Grace O’Reilly

Smoking stinks. Literally.

If you’re one of those people who have yet to kick the cigarette habit despite the health risks, we may have just found something that may finally put you off smoking altogether.

The UK’s Local Government Association (LGA) warns that cigarette circulating on the black market have been found to contain ‘human excrement’.

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From: The Examiner

By Brandon Dumsky

An Independence business owner pleaded guilty in federal court to his role in a multi-million dollar, multi-conspiracy to transport hundreds of thousands of cartons of contraband cigarettes from the Kansas City area to the state of New York, where they are primarily sold on Indian reservations.

Craig Sheffler, 45, of Independence, pleaded guilty before a U.S. District judge to participating in a conspiracy to commit wire fraud and contraband cigarette trafficking from July 2010 to January 2012. He has forfeited $599,206 to the federal government from his company, Cheap Tobacco Wholesale, in Independence, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney Office.

From: Belarus Digest

Since 2014 the pattern of illegal exports from Belarus to EU has moved towards larger consignments. Large quantities of detained tobacco found on cargo trains. On 6 November Jury Siańko became the Head of the State Customs Committee. Will he change the current situation with smuggling from Belarus to EU?

The decrease in individual border traffic and the growing share of Belarusians cigarettes in the EU shadow market are both reasons for concern. Financed by the EU and foreign tobacco producers, Belarusian State Customs Committee aims to reduce smuggling and increase revenue for the state.