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• Conclusion: Illegal cigarette trafficking is not a “cigarette issue.”
• IT IS AN ORGANIZED CRIME ISSUE.
• Trafficking hurts all legitimate manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers, and leads to an increase in attendant crimes, such as credit card fraud, money laundering, burglaries, robberies and homicide/murder for hire schemes.
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• In May of 2013, a multi-agency police investigation of a cigarette smuggling ring led to 16 arrests in New York and Virginia.
• The defendants are believed to be associated with both Hamas and Hezbollah operatives.
• This criminal conspiracy involved Palestinians smuggling up to 20,000 cartons of cigarettes a week.
– The cigarettes were bought in bulk from a wholesaler in Virginia, stored in Delaware, and then trafficked into New York.
– It is estimated that at least $65 million were made by the defendants.
• In October of 2013, two of the leaders of this conspiracy were charged with an additional crime: attempting to arrange the contract murder of two witnesses
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• In April of 2012, Onesimo Marcelino and three defendants were arrested in New York for trafficking cigarettes.
• They purchased over 111,000 cartons of cigarettes in Virginia and transported them to New York.
– Payment was made with “millions in cash, thousands of grams of cocaine, an expensive SUV, and two firearms.”