[Steve_Seattle]

In the Seattle area, there are a lot of cigarette shops run by Middle Eastern men; I've often wondered if any of them are money-laundering fronts for terrorists.

[sinanju]

"In the Seattle area, there are a lot of cigarette shops run by Middle Eastern men; I've often wondered if any of them are money-laundering fronts for terrorists."

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That would depend, if they are charging the full state tax on cigarettes legitimately, then there's no illegal profit margin.

Now if they were selling them duty-free over the internet or smuggling them to be sold on indian reservations...

[Cecily]

You would probably find the book "Lightning Out of Lebanon" interesting. A Hezbollah cell in Charlotte, NC got busted for cigarette smuggling. The book also mentions the baby formula scam in passing.

[Gabz]

In the Seattle area, there are a lot of cigarette shops run by Middle Eastern men; I've often wondered if any of them are money-laundering fronts for terrorists.

There have been arrests made for exactly that. The black market for tobacco products, particularly cigarettes is growing by leaps and bounds as states keep cranking up the tax on them.