Taking advantage of the difference in taxes on tobacco products, dealers from new York and Maryland had cheated the government of $400 thousand.
During the operation, «Evasion» organized by Federal and local law enforcement officers, it was found that the quirky trio have taken more than 6.2 thousand cartons of cigarettes from Virginia (where the tax on a pack is only $0,30) to new York (which has the highest tax in the country of $5.75).
«The defendants carried out the illegal tobacco trade, which in new York has brought in more than 1.25 million tax-free cigarettes, and the people [were robbed] hundreds of thousands of dollars, said on Friday, October 19, the attorney General of the state of new York Barbara underwood. — These traders put law-abiding businesses at a disadvantage».
The police also seized several firearms, 3 vehicles and more than $312 million in cash — in addition to 341 thousand packs of cigarettes, discovered in a warehouse in Brooklyn.
A huge tax on tobacco products in new York, introduced by the state for struggle against Smoking became a cause of the black market.
In 2015, more than 56% of all sold in the state of the cigarettes were illegally imported from abroad. «In total, more than $1.6 billion of unpaid taxes», — the report says the New York Post, which presents an analysis of the tax Foundation 2017.
11 and 19 October in the court of kings County held hearings on the tobacco case. The next court hearing is scheduled for December.
