Ice cream van man sold smuggled cigarettes

Police seized thousands of pounds worth of smuggled cigarettes and tobacco from an ice cream van.
They pounced on it in Ashford, Kent, after being tipped off by suspicious residents and seized 16,000 cigarettes and 22lbs of hand-rolling tobacco worth £10,000.
Police said: "It seems that illegal tobacco was being sold along with the 99s and ice lollies." Customs investigators have now been called in.

Cigarettes smuggled in as soya beans

State Customs seized 192,000 cartons of smuggled cigarettes at Senari Port on Friday.

The cigarettes, worth RM1.6 million, arrived at the port last Thursday and were declared as soya beans from a neighbouring country.

State director Datuk Rusmani Abdul Sukur said the seizure was based on a tip-off.


"We have identified the consignee and agents of the container and are still investigating," he said yesterday.

In Butterworth, state Customs officers seized cigarettes worth RM1.1 million with unpaid duty amounting to RM4.8 million.

State Customs chief Datuk Matrang Suhaili said officers seized 50,000 cartons of "Tex" brand cigarettes from a 40-foot container at the North Butterworth Container Terminal on Sunday.

The consignment, weighing some 40 tonnes, had been declared as "animal feed" from Canada and was addressed to a feed mill in Sungai Bakap, near Nibong Tebal.

Matrang said investigations showed the company was not aware of the import.

A forwarding company supervisor and two haulier drivers had been detained to facilitate investigations.

Five held for smuggling cigarettes

Marine police arrested five foreigners who were trying to smuggle in 7,000 cartons of contraband cigarettes off the waters of Segari yesterday.
The five, aged between 21 and 49, are being held to assist in investigations.
Perak Marine police commander Deputy Supt Shaari Ariffin said the cigarettes were believed to have originated from a neighbouring country.
Also seized during the 1.50am operation was a speedboat.
“This is our biggest haul this year,” said DSP Shaari, adding that the seized items were worth about RM773,800.
He said the success of yesterday’s operation was due to public cooperation and urged anyone with knowledge of illegal activities in Malaysian waters to inform the Marine police immediately.

Police ID man wanted in connection to cigarettes theft

Investigators have identified a man they say broke into three local convenience stores Monday to steal cigarettes.
Earl Alex Harris, Jr., 43, is wanted on three counts of burglary, according to Richmond County Sheriff’s Investigator Aaron Hannsz. He lives with his father at 4564 Pineview Lane in Hephzibah and is believed to frequent known drug areas downtown, Investigator Hannsz said. The robberies occurred at McTeer Food and Fuel on 4150 Windsor Spring Road, McTeer Shell Station at 1237 Gordon Highway and Wally’s on 4250 Windsor Spring Road, according to a sheriff’s report.
In each case, Mr. Harris is accused of smashing the glass door or window at the stores and robbed the business of Newport cigarettes.

Oregon moves to block e-cigarette sales

The Oregon Attorney General's Office is suing an electronic cigarettes importer that sells plastic devices marketed as being safer than regular tobacco cigarettes.
Attorney General John Kroger filed the lawsuit Tuesday, the same day a county in New York banned sales of what's called e-cigarettes to minors; both moves are the first of their kinds in the nation.
Typically imported from China, e-cigarettes look like traditional cigarettes, down to their battery-powered glowing red tip. Instead of burning, e-cigarettes vaporize certain mixtures, which can include liquid nicotine. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which has not approved the sale of e-cigarettes, recently reported hat a test of 19 brands found more than half contained a cancer-causing substance.
Kroger has filed suit against Florida-based Smoking Everywhere Inc., which had refused state requests to restrict its sales, and its chief executive, Elico Taieb.
Meanwhile, Smoking Everywhere and a major importer, Sottera Inc., are suing the FDA in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., claiming the agency doesn't have the authority to regulate their product.
Smoking Everywhere has continued to operate in Oregon as the federal case proceeds, Tuesday's lawsuit contends. Kroger already has reached an agreement with Sottera, maker of the Njoy brand, to halt sales here.
"It's my duty to protect the public from products that are falsely advertised as safe," said Kroger, who has said that e-cigarettes' flavored options are a further concern as they may appeal to young people.

Man pleads guilty to smuggling cigarettes abroad

MIAMI — Authorities say an American has pleaded guilty to smuggling more than 27 million cigarettes from the U.S. into some European Union countries.

Authorities in Miami say 57-year-old Roman Vidal pleaded guilty Friday to conspiring to commit wire and mail fraud. They say he was trying to avoid paying more than $6.5 million in customs and tax duties.

They say he arranged to buy cases of cigarettes from Panama along with other cargo such as yarn and wood flooring to cover them up. Authorities say he directed the preparation of documents that declared only the cover materials, not the cigarettes.

Sentencing is set for Nov. 10.

Vidal's attorney didn't immediately return a telephone message and an e-mail.

Focus of cigarette laws is wrong

Recently I had the misfortune of sitting through the trial of a small business owner, charged because one of their employees sold a pack of cigarettes to a tobacco cop snitch. Using underage kids to try and entrap an unsuspecting clerk is a despicable act -I thought entrapment was illegal?

This was a three-day trial for one pack of cigarettes. What a flagrant waste of taxpayers dollars. We were appaled at the vindictiveness of the crown, who urged the judge to impose a $10,000 fine on a mom and pop operation.

The irony of this is what kid would be stupid enough to buy cigarettes for $10 a pack when they can get them for a fraction of this price on the street?

After further research I discovered that if an employee at the beer store sells to a minor they receive a letter of discipline, after the third offence they are fired. The liquor store, a government-owned business, is the same -a disciplinary letter and then the employee is fired. No one fines them, takes their licence away or threatens to shut them down when an employee has an off day or is overworked and mistakenly sells to a minor.

Why is the law different for stores that sell alcohol to minors? I've never heard of anyone under the influence of tobacco killing someone while behind the wheel of a car.

Incidentally, the store owner, who did not sell the cigarettes, was fined $4,000 plus court costs and lawyers fees.

Another example of justice served?