Posted on 12/03/2004 8:17:22 PM PST by Plumberman27
NEW YORK A cargo plane carrying 150,000 cartons of illegal cigarettes was detained at John F. Kennedy International Airport, authorities said.
Agents from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms seized the cigarettes Tuesday morning as part of a nationwide effort to halt sales of contraband tobacco. Buyers of illegal cigarettes usually hope to avoid city, state and federal tobacco taxes, the ATF said.
The cargo airline, which was not identified, was cooperating with the government and no charges were expected to be filed.
Yeah -- these 150,000 cartons of illegal cigarettes pose a much greater danger than 150,000 illegal aliens strolling across the border per day at the Mexican border.
And here I was afraid the Bush Administration didn't have their priorities straight.
If you had to pay the outrageous taxes on state cigarettes, you would find an alternative way too!
Dear Customer,
Unfortunately due to the inspection at JFK airport, some of our packages are still on hold. Various articles on newspapers everywhere have used words such as illegal and smuggling pertaining said situation, however this is not in reference to the cigarettes sold at Yesmoke. Infact, all our packages have a proper custom declaration on them, which corresponds to an import request: federal law does not prohibit purchasing cigarettes from abroad via mail.
Shipping cigarettes, infact, is legal in the USA, not only because of Federal Law, but also because of the Universal Postal Convention dated September 15, 1999 whose provisions have been ratified by both United States and Switzerland and which lists cigarettes among the permitted products. Should the United States forbid these shipments, they would be violating the above agreements: we thus reckon that our packages should be released within a short amount of time.
We have been informed that the latest procedures applied by USPS allow Federal Authorities to randomly check all incoming mail, therefore packages can be delayed up to a few weeks.
Unfortunately the inspection started a few days before the international debut of the Yesmoke brand, which is to be launched on the market on Wednsday December 1, together with our new website where, in a special section you will find an update on the shipping situation
Please remember that it is nonetheless our priority to inform you and all our clients on any and all developments about this matter as soon as possible.
We are deeply sorry for the inconvenience, we thank you for your understanding and we wish to reassure you that we will do our best to safeguard our client's rights.
Best regards
Customer Care
Yesmoke.ch
American equivalent of Iran/Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Vice & Virtue. ATF Bastards.
Ping
Thankyou, Gumption. They're unusually late but I havn't gotten an email from them. ACK...It will kill me to pay regular price! Vegas slapped a $5 per carton increase this year!
That's right my little furry friend.
The taxes on those thangs is outrageous!
But you gotta stop this or you'll be in a heap o' trouble!
Unfortunately, I do believe it IS your shipment from yessmoke.com.
If you are in NY, you should really consider buying from the Indians instead.
Meanwhile, from what I understand, they intend to hit you with a tax bill on those cigs from yessmoke.com.
I don't know what they expected to happen when they raised the taxes so high, but...oh, nevermind. These tax-raising idiots will never learn.
Regards,
Feds stub out big cig racket
BY ADAM LISBERG
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Federal agents have seized tons of bootleg cigarettes at Kennedy Airport that were sent to New York from Switzerland as part of an illegal scheme to sell tax-free smokes, authorities said yesterday.
Agents from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives began confiscating the shipments of cigarettes bought over the Internet in the last few days, authorities said.
A law enforcement source said the scheme has cost the feds roughly $90million in taxes over the last three years.
The feds are sorting the cigarette shipments by their address labels - and smokers who hoped to get a deal instead could get a visit from the taxman, authorities said.
The probe, launched after a DHL shipping company employee tipped off Port Authority cops, was expected to go on for weeks, a law enforcement source said.
But the feds were so overwhelmed by the quantity of illegal cigarettes coming in that they called the Swiss shipper behind the scam, Otamedia, and told it to stop sending the smokes, the source said.
Customs agents and postal inspectors worked with ATF agents and PA cops to stockpile the cigarettes in a hangar.
"In three days, we filled half a warehouse," the source said.
Otamedia sold Marlboros for as little as $13.95 a carton - allowing buyers to evade as much as $50 in city, state and federal taxes.
"Individuals that ordered these cigarettes are liable to pay those taxes, and the state and the city are entitled to collect their taxes," said ATF spokesman Joe Green.
City and state authorities are involved in the probe, and some sealed criminal complaints have been filed, Green said.
The city of New York won a $17.4million judgment against Otamedia last month for not paying city taxes.
Otamedia did not respond to requests for comment.
Originally published on November 17, 2004
Oh good grief!
I just got my latest shipment from Discgountcigs.com.
So far nothing hinky has happened with these guys, but as I have them shipped UPS ground . . .I am sure I'm in line for something.
"Otamedia sold Marlboros for as little as $13.95 a carton ..."
Actually, $12.95, pending my incoming tax bill.Or, maybe they'll just seize all my property.We'll see.
Well, Meek, I think I finally got the computer for me! I ordered a DELL and it's WONDERFUL. Now, all I have to do is get everything installed and I will be up to speed again.
Bare with me!
DudeDudette, you're gettin' a DELL!!
Very cool! Way to go!! :^D
You're right - and it's not just cigarettes. These muslims are involved in the sale of all kinds of illegally obtained items from baby food to toilet paper and anything in between. Most of it is stolen and sold in the "convenience stores" which they have taken control of all over the country.
Here in Nashville, there's a group of such convenience stores (Mapco Express) which, I've been told, are owned by Israelis and that's the only place where I buy gas, cigarettes or any of the other items I don't get elsewhere. I know from sources in law enforcement that most of the rest are muslim-controlled and financing jihad through the sale of stolen goods.
You're SO clever! LOVE it!
:^D
Just got home after a very nice morning and read this article.
Good Lord,doesn't the government have enough to do?
They keep upping the taxes and fed-up smokers still find ways to avoid them. Do you think the idiots will ever get it?
Massachusetts now DOUBLES the price for cigs with the heavy taxes and is considering raising it again to pay health insurance for those without it.
It boggles the mind.
Sis, I keep telling everyone to ROLL THEIR OWN!! When Maine raised the taxes on cigarettes a few years ago, putting my Premiums up to $45-$50 a carton, depending on where I bought them, I have now been rolling my own for the past two years. For just a little UNDER $8.00, I roll out a beautiful carton of cigarettes, and I am NOT paying into the stupid state coffers any more.
And it's perfectly legal. I buy the filtered tubes and my menthol tobacco at the Smoke Shop in town, and I order the Supermatic Rolling off of the Net. I love it! And I am a VERY happy camper. SCREW THE STATE COFFERS. heh
Where did the cigarettes come from, another city in the U.S. or from another country?
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