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• ATF, MSP Arrest Several in Cigarette Fraud Scheme 

Special agents of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and investigators from the Michigan State Police (MSP) arrested 18 individuals today as part of an ongoing criminal investigation into a contraband tobacco trafficking network alleged to have defrauded the State of Michigan, announced ATF Special Agent in Charge Thomas E. Brandon and MSP Director Colonel Peter C. Munoz.

Investigators of MSP's Tobacco Tax Unit worked alongside ATF agents in this two-year federal investigation. More than 150 law enforcement officers from ATF, MSP, and the Dearborn and Detroit Police Departments participated in the arrests and with the service of 25 federal search warrants for documents at private residences, gas stations and convenience stores throughout southeast Michigan. Items seized from various locations searched today include: documents, firearms, suspected contraband cigarettes and more than $115,000 in U.S. currency.

"At a time when Michigan's economy is struggling, these defendants chose to break the law for their own personal gain by not paying the required State excise taxes on over 100,000 cartons of cigarettes. They sold the contraband cigarettes out of their businesses, pocketing over two million dollars in revenue that was due to the State of Michigan," stated Brandon.

Those arrested for their role in the contraband cigarette trafficking scheme are: Abdo AL-HANUMA, 46; Jim ATTY, 56; Salim Georges ATTY, 72; Ali BAZZI, 36; Farid BAZZI, 32; Kassem Ali BAZZI, 62; Mohammed BAZZI, 33; Nasser BAZZI, 37; Sima Dehashti FALLAHI, 54; Khalil Ibrahim GARMO, 59; Abdul HEZAM, 40; Sam Gerges JINA, 47; Ali Salah KAHWAJI, 30; Khaled Abdo MOZEP, 24; Mukhlis MURAD, 50; Raghid MURAD, 36; Najib YATOOMA, 56; and Marawan EL-TOHAMY, 27. All defendants were brought before U.S. Magistrate Judge Virginia M. Morgan, Eastern District of Michigan this afternoon for initial appearances on criminal complaints.

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