From: CBS/Chicago
Pam Zekman, Pulitzer-prize winning reporter Pam Zekman serves on CBS 2
(CBS) — A pack of cigarettes in Chicago can cost as much as $15 and with the soaring price the trafficking of contraband cigarettes is way up as well.
They’re called unstamped or untaxed cigarettes, smuggled in from states like Indiana and Missouri where cigarette taxes are much less. 2 Investigator Pam Zekman reports on a new push by law enforcement to crack down on pirated cigarettes.
It’s called operation “Check the Stamps” and over a 60-day period the Chicago Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection issued 620 tickets to 165 Chicago businesses for selling illegal cigarettes.
The 2 Investigators went along to three convenience stores that were part of the city’s sting operation, and it didn’t take long to find some contraband.
