Cigarette Smuggling Linked to Terrorism

Washington Post ^ | 06/08/2004 | Sari Horwitz

[general_re]

Smugglers with ties to terrorist groups are acquiring millions of dollars from illegal cigarette sales and funneling the cash to organizations such as al Qaeda and Hezbollah, federal law enforcement officials say, prompting a nationwide crackdown on black market tobacco.

The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has more than 300 open cases of illicit cigarette trafficking -- including several with terrorist links -- up from only a handful five years ago, ATF sources said.

"This is a major priority for us," said Michael Bouchard, assistant director of the ATF. "The deeper we dig into these cases, the more ties to terrorism we're discovering."

The lucrative trafficking of cigarettes, known as cigarette diversion, is a simple scheme but difficult to stop, law enforcement officials say. The traffickers purchase a large volume of cigarettes in states where the tax is low, such as Virginia and North Carolina, transport them up Interstate 95 to states such as Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey and then sell them at a discount without paying the higher cigarette taxes in those states.

With huge profits -- and low penalties for arrest and conviction -- illicit cigarette trafficking now has begun to rival drug trafficking as a funding choice for terrorist groups, said William Billingslea, an ATF senior intelligence analyst who has studied the issue extensively.

[Conspiracy Guy]

I'll keep that in mind.

[Conspiracy Guy]

Abortion even takes more years off of a life. But per the Left, "Abortion is a good and joyful thing and smoking is bad and supports terrorism".

[Judith Anne]

'High Tobacco Taxes Create Blackmarket for Terrorists'

Excellent, truthful headline.

I wonder how long it will be before the antismokers come on here and tell us what a good idea it was to finance social engineering on the backs of smokers.

[Just another Joe]

This isn't the first time it's been said. It won't be the last time.
You can get a lot of prison time for importing marijuana, heroin, meth, and the like.
There are not very severe penalties for moving cigarettes from one state to another.

When the price is outrageous in one place ($7.50 in NY City) and reasonable in another place ($3.00 near KC, MO in some places), the penalty for doing so light, and the profit to be made really very good, what does the government expect?

Entrepreneurs will pop up anywhere there is a buck to be made with light penalties.

Weren't a couple of the founding fathers involved in some type of smuggling?

[Gritty]

I've got an idea. Let's kill this terrorist bonanza by cutting cigarette taxes!

I doubt such a proposal would fly though. Too many politicians and lawyers are now less addicted to tobacco and more addicted to it's money stream. They find it impossible to quit.

[DumpsterDiver]

I need to put this in my handy list of weights and measures.
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Several > Handfull
- - - - - - - - - - -

Would you do me a favor and figure out the difference between "a few" and "some"? Inquiring minds want to know.

[VRWC_minion]

The real terrorist is the parent that smokes in enclosed spaces with their child.

[Know your rights]

Entrepreneurs will pop up anywhere there is a buck to be made with light penalties.

Or even heavy penalties; there's no evidence that illegal drug users have a tough time finding what they want.

[Just another Joe]

With higher penalties you need a higher profit margin.
If the penalties for cigarette smuggling between states was made higher you would see the price for the smuggled cigarettes go much higher.

IMO, the only way that will happen is if the sale, and use, of tobacco is outlawed.

[Oztrich Boy]

Well if the Federal Bureau of FATE says so, it must be true.

[Hanging Chad]

"...Would you do me a favor and figure out the difference between
"a few" and "some"? Inquiring minds want to know..."

According to my notes:
couple < few < some < handful < several < shitpot-full

[Know your rights]

If the penalties for cigarette smuggling between states was made higher you would see the price for the smuggled cigarettes go much higher.

The only reason entrepreneurs wouldn't take advantage of that to reap higher profits, is that consumers have a legal source of expensive cigarettes.

[Dead Corpse]

Boy, I gotta tell you. (sarcasm)No one saw this coming did they...(/sarcasm)

Effing morons. What the hell did they think was gonna happen?

[Gabz]

IMO, the only way that will happen is if the sale, and use, of tobacco is outlawed.

And you know that will not happen..............

[Eastbound]

"I wonder how long it will be before the antismokers come on here and tell us what a good idea it was to finance social engineering on the backs of smokers.

Run-of-the-mill anti-smokers are Marxist pawns and don't know they've been manipulated. Regulation is more dangerous to your health than smoking. The same can be said for gun control.

[Know your rights]

Effing morons. What the hell did they think was gonna happen?

Hey, if Prohibition didn't teach them not to try a War On Drugs, why would those examples teach them not to try a War On Tobacco?

[Dead Corpse]

Good point...

[DumpsterDiver]

According to my notes:
couple < few < some < handful < several < shitpot-ful

Thank you for your time. So....

boatload > horde

or is it

boatload < horde

P.S.

legions > hordes ??

miniscule < teeny-weeny ??

[FrankR]

First of all, there is no terrorism...according to the democRATS anyway.

Secondly, what did those states expect when they taxed a pack of cigarettes up to $10 a pack in some places?

Either stop this silly smoking ban nonsense, or reap the consequences of the black market. Didn't prohibition teach our "illustrious" leaders ANYTHING?

Smokers will not be promoting terrorism, the PC boneheads who are playing "nanny state" are promoting it.

Looks like the only thing left is to make ALL TOBACCO PRODUCTS ILLEGAL. Just ban them outright, now. Come on libs, you've got the perfect excuse right now...do it.

Then after that, go ahead and ban fast food. You'll be needing a new "public health hazard" to wring your collective hands over, and you can just tax the sh*t out of fast food. Oh, but then...then, won't the terrorists start selling black market hamburgers? Then, outlaw them too.

Once tobacco and fast food are out of the way,liberals can ban all other products that:
a) People enjoy;
b) Makes People smile;
c) Doesn't already generate a sin tax;
d) Someone else has that the libs don't have.

These laws go back to the same basic principle of human nature that "smoking and kids" does...you tell them they "can't", and they will do it, or die trying.

[Gabz]

Smokers will not be promoting terrorism, the PC boneheads who are playing "nanny state" are promoting it.

Very good point.