New York State Department of Taxation and Finance
518-45-PRESS (518-457-7377)
geoffrey.gloak@tax.ny.gov
April 07, 2014

Two Arrested by Cigarette Strike Force Investigators

NYS Tax Department seizes 460 cartons of illegal cigarettes in Queens and Brooklyn

The New York State Department of Taxation and Finance announced today that its Cigarette Strike Force made two arrests in New York City, bringing charges for the trafficking and sale of illegal tobacco products.

The arrests, one in Queens, the other in Brooklyn, both on the same day, follow an announcement earlier this month by Governor Andrew M. Cuomo that his Administration would work with state, local and federal agencies to stop the influx of counterfeit and untaxed tobacco products into New York.

Combined, 460 cartons of illegal cigarettes - valued at $46,000 - were confiscated by the Tax Department’s Criminal Investigations Division.   In 2014, the Department has seized more than 2,000 cartons of untaxed cigarettes and 250,000 illegal cigars, totaling more than $520,000.

In addition to the felony charges listed below, the civil penalty for possession of untaxed cigarettes is $600 per carton, totaling $276,000 in these two cases.

Queens arrest

In the Richmond Hill area of Queens, Strike Force investigators arrested Difaa M. Saleh, 35, of 127 McKinley Avenue, Brooklyn and seized 300 cartons of branded cigarettes that were tax-stamped in Virginia, not New York.  At the 102nd NYPD Precinct stationhouse he was charged with two misdemeanors and five felonies, including possession for sale of untaxed cigarettes and attempting to evade the New York State and New York City cigarette tax.  Saleh was released on his own recognizance.

Brooklyn arrest

In the Cypress Hills section of Brooklyn, Luciano Evaristo Hernandez-Fernandez, 57, of 160 Euclid Avenue, Brooklyn, was arrested and a search of his second-floor apartment uncovered 160 cartons of untaxed cigarettes, 10,563 cigars, and more than 14,000 counterfeit cigarette tax stamps.  Investigators also seized $4,423 in U.S. currency, a small amount of loose tobacco and miscellaneous records.

At the 75th Precinct stationhouse, Hernandez-Fernandez was charged with one misdemeanor and five felonies, including criminal possession of a forged instrument, possession and transport for sale of more than 30,000 cigarettes, and attempt to evade city and state cigarette taxes.  He was released on his own recognizance.

Court dates for both defendants will be set in the future.  A criminal complaint is an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

2014 cigarette and tobacco seizures

Since the beginning of the year, cigarette and tobacco-related seizures by the Tax Department’s Criminal Investigations Division have yielded $632,000 in contraband and cash, including:

  • 2,017 cartons of cigarettes
  • 254,723 cigars
  • 2,059 pounds of loose tobacco
  • 14,738 counterfeit cigarette tax stamps
  • $35,658 cash

Also seized in conjunction with tobacco-related raids were a 2002 BMW X5, 474 cases of illegal alcohol, marijuana, illegal pharmaceutical drugs and pirated DVD’s.

Related - Governor Cuomo Announces New Strike Force to Crack Down on Illegal Cigarette and Tobacco Trafficking and Sales

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