Field Enforcement Division agents seize 3,800 packs and vehicle
ANNAPOLIS, Md. - During a surveillance operation January 24, agents from the Comptroller of Maryland’s Field Enforcement Division (FED) arrested a Pennsylvania man and confiscated thousands of packs of contraband cigarettes.
“Our FED agents are always on the lookout for cheats and crooks who take the chance of driving through Maryland with their illegal tobacco products,” Comptroller Peter Franchot said. “We are proud of their dedicated work in identifying these scofflaws and bringing them to justice.”
At 10:30 a.m. January 24, FED agents saw a man buy multiple cartons of cigarettes from a discount cigarette retail store along U.S. Route 13 in Oak Hall, Va. The man put them in the rear of a 2006 Toyota Scion with a Pennsylvania license plate and then drove north on Route 13 from Virginia into Maryland. Agents stopped the vehicle at Route 13 and Sheep House Road in Pocomoke, Worcester County and conducted a search of the car.
FED agents seized 3,840 packs of contraband cigarettes and the car used in transportation. The seized cigarettes are valued at $24,768 and represent a tax loss to the state of $7,680.
The driver, Jose Amado Rivera, 71, of Philadelphia, was arrested and charged with a felony count of transporting contraband cigarettes and a misdemeanor count of possession of contraband cigarettes. Mr. Rivera was taken before a district court commissioner in Snow Hill, Worcester County, and released on personal recognizance. A court date has not been set.
DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
What happens to all of those cigarettes?
ReplyDeletePot is basically legal and the state is worried about illegal cigs.
ReplyDeleteSo the Maryland cops observed this at a Virginia location...
ReplyDeleteMade the stop based on an out-of state observation....
Of a Pennsylvania resident that they (probably) can't prove he was selling them in Maryland.
What kind of geshtapo do we have in this state?
12:23 - Confiscated, then burned.
ReplyDelete12:33
ReplyDeleteThe state used to sell them back to distributor or manufacturer.
Anonymous Anonymous said...
ReplyDeleteWhat happens to all of those cigarettes?
February 1, 2019 at 12:23 PM
I think they are turn in...
to mini blunts
"of Philadelphia" LOL
ReplyDeleteWhy did they arrest him? He wasn't going to sell any cigarettes in Maryland. Maryland didn't lose a single penny of tax revenue. In fact, Maryland will lose money on this arrest because of the salaries of the troopers, court employees, judges and the cost to house and feed him in jail. Talk about stupid, Maryland officials and politicians are really dumb.
ReplyDeleteSo let me get this straight:
ReplyDeleteThe mega-wealthy can purchase a yacht and have it titled in (no sales tax) Delaware, and avoid the huge tax liability that they would have if purchased in their home state, and therefore save some money.
And that is OK.
Delaware actually heavily advertises the fact that there is no sales tax, only to entice people from Maryland to make purchases (clothing; school supplies; liquor, etc.) there, and therefore save some money.
And that is OK.
Granted, this guy from PA was a profiteer, bringing 384 cartons across the line. He would make a net profit in excess of $25,000.00 if sold in NY. But the government puts a limit on a regular law-abiding MD citizen (a smoker trying to save a few dollars) to just two cartons.
In my opinion, that is not OK.
(BTW: No preaching to me, please. I know I should quit smoking. I've tried. Very difficult!)
The cigarette companies are located primarily in Virginia and North Carolina. When they ship their cigarettes through Maryland why don't their drivers get arrested?
ReplyDelete12:23 - Good point. Why are we chasing New York law breakers? What's in it for Marylanders?
ReplyDeleteLook for a new T shirt & beach wear store in Ocean City
ReplyDeleteGood job Comptroller Franchot.
ReplyDeleteThe Democrats in the General Assembly are trying to disband this division because they don't like Peter Franchot. Please help the Comptroller keep this division under his watch.
One is a scofflaw if one attempts to avoid taxation by a criminal government.
ReplyDeletesad so many mouth breathers around here. The law says you can legally transport two cartons at a time. There are tax stamps required to move large quantities of tobacco thru most states. With that being said I find it ridiculous to have enforcement involved. There was a time terrorist were taking the cigarettes to New York and making outrageous profits and using the proceeds for terrorism. These tobacco cops make as much sense as the fleet of Harleys Mike Lewis has just wanton waste.
ReplyDelete12:58 is right about the tax revenue. What tax revenue was "lost" in Maryland if he was going to sell them in PA or NY? I guess the siesure of the car, and potential auction, pays the FED salary.
ReplyDeleteNow, if he was intending to sell them in Maryland, that's a whole different equation.
And, if I buy my liquor in DE, am I in violation of the tax stamp act if I drink it in Maryland?
Buy your cigs, go south, pick up 95N. You're welcome.
ReplyDeleteCigarette smuggling harms local businesses that follow the law. Tax dollars lost is stolen money.
ReplyDeleteSo.... Avoiding an unreasonable "sin tax" levied by one state harms local businesses, you say?
ReplyDeleteFollowing your line of reasoning, Maryland should ban all purchases made in state-tax-free Delaware from crossing the MD State line.
Or, like smokes, limit it to two shirts, two bikes, two loose-leaf binders, etc., etc., etc.
February 2, 2019 at 11:01 AM;
ReplyDeleteNot too smart, are you? The agents that observed the purchase, also observed the person buying the illegal quantity of cigarettes, and the car and license tags of the person that made the purchase. That information is automatically put into the police database, and the next tag reader that vehicle goes through will target that vehicle for pull over and search. That is, unless the quantity warrants that the vehicle is followed by the same agents that observed the purchase, from the purchase point to the state line that is crossed. You must be one of those people that THINKS they are smarter than the cops that catch criminals like you every day.