http://www.tobacco.org/newsfeed/category/crime.rss Latest top tobacco news headlines en-us http://www.idahostatesman.com/387/story/434682.html http://tobacco.org/news/268324.html A second tobacco shop was robbed within three days, leaving Boise police to discover whether they have one or two suspects at large. About 1:30 p.m. Saturday at the Tobacco Connection, 2050 W. State St., a white male adult displayed a handgun and demanded money from the clerk, who was alone in the store at the time. The Idaho Statesman WEBB - awebb@idahostatesman.com (ANNA WEBB) Sun, 06 Jul 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2008/07/06/new21.asp http://tobacco.org/news/268316.html The Customs Preventive Division is conducting an inquiry into the smuggling of cigarettes from Dubai valued at Rs. 16.4 million. According to customs sources this was the biggest detection this year. Statements were recorded from the travellers whose names appeared on the packages and the air cargo company which handled the consignment, said Assistant Director, Customs Preventive Division, K. A. Dharmasena. He said that those whose names were mentioned on the packages denied any knowledge of these items. Sunday Observer wedaarachchi@sundayobserver.lk (L. S. A. Wedaarachchi) Sri Lanka Uae: Dubai Sun, 06 Jul 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://hamptonroads.com/2008/07/trade-group-pushes-repeal-beach-cigarette-tax-hike http://tobacco.org/news/268297.html A national trade group has huffed and puffed for city leaders to reconsider the cigarette tax increase that went into effect this week. The National Association of Tobacco Outlets sent a letter to City Council members asking them to revisit the tax. Councilman Bill DeSteph said "chances are" he would push the issue. The increase, which started Tuesday, increased the per-pack tax on cigarettes to 61 cents from 50 cents, a 22 percent rise. Thomas Briant, the trade association's executive director, said the city's decision to repeal a tax increase on machinery and tools - after Stihl Inc. and other manufacturers complained about that 90 percent increase - means the city should listen to tobacco outlets, too. Norfolk Virginian-Pilot richard.quinn@pilotonline.com (Richard Quinn The Virginian-Pilot) Sat, 05 Jul 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://sg.news.yahoo.com/cna/20080703/tap-358051-231650b.html http://tobacco.org/news/268170.html SINGAPORE: An arriving passenger with an awkwardly bulging waistline and unnatural gait caught the attention of customs officers at the Singapore Cruise Centre on Wednesday. A body search conducted on the 61--year--old man uncovered four packets of shag tobacco strapped to his waist. The loose tobacco, which is used for rolling cigarettes, weighed about 850 grammes. According to a statement from the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA), the man claimed he had bought the tobacco for personal consumption in Batam while visiting his family there. Channel NewsAsia Singapore Fri, 04 Jul 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.daily-mail.co.zm/media/news/viewnews.cgi?category=17&id=1214472803 http://tobacco.org/news/268136.html BRITISH American Tobacco has lost K300 million in illicit inflows of sweet menthol cigarettes in Northern Province. BAT managing director, Lovemore Manatsa said there was an illegal inflow of 110 cases monthly of the sweet menthol cigarettes in the province. He said this translated into K300 million in the revenue losses to BAT, Government and other legitimate players in the market. He disclosed this in an interview in Lusaka yesterday. Mr Manatsa said the illicit inflows also made it difficult for the legitimate players to gauge the true size of the cigarette market in Zambia. Zambia Daily Mail Zambia Thu, 26 Jun 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=atBXnoTda1WM http://tobacco.org/news/268134.html The 27,000 people of Finland's Aaland Islands are tired of being bossed around by the European Union. ... The islanders, who often say they feel more like Swedes than Finns, have clashed with the EU over fishing and hunting rights, as well as snus, a form of snuff that is popular in Sweden but illegal to sell in Finland. ... Aalanders consider snus, pronounced ``snoos,'' to be an important part of their Swedish culture. Brussels banned sales of snus, packets of tobacco that are inserted under the top lip, in 1992 on concern it would spread outside Scandinavia and attract new users. Sweden won an exemption before it joined the bloc in 1995. Aaland ferries continue to sell snus in Swedish waters. Bloomberg News dbenaaron1@bloomberg.net (Diana ben-Aaron) Finland Europe Thu, 03 Jul 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.berkshireeagle.com/ci_9761530?IADID=Search-www.berkshireeagle.com-www.berkshireeagle.com http://tobacco.org/news/268109.html The statewide cigarette tax increase of $1 went into effect yesterday, after passage in the Legislature late Monday and Gov. Deval L. Patrick's signature yesterday. In January, the average nationwide price of a pack of cigarettes was $4.25, as reported by a study tracking state cigarette prices, but in Massachusetts, an average pack cost $5.41. With the total tax now at $2.51, Massachusetts now has the third highest cigarette tax in the nation, behind New York and New Jersey. . . . For smokers, the cigarette tax adds to the increasing cost of gas and other commodities. But lawmakers hope the new tax will cause consumers to quit smoking. But some smokers won't quit. Berkshire Eagle bmastroianni@berkshireeagle.com (Brian Mastroianni, Berkshire Eagle Staff) Wed, 02 Jul 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.brudirect.com/DailyInfo/News/Archive/July08/010708/nite05.htm http://tobacco.org/news/268062.html A cook was fined $2,770 or one-month imprisonment by the Bandar Magistrate's Court yesterday after he pleaded guilty to having in his possession several bottles of uncustomed alcoholic drinks and more than 100 packets of cigarettes. Fifty-one-year-old Malaysian Tey Kim Say was deemed to have committed an offence under section 146(1)(d) of the Excise Order 2006 punishable under section 146(1)(i) of the same order for being in possession of three bottles of Scotch whisky, six bottles of white wine, 41 packets of 'Era' cigarettes, 98 packets of `Gudang Garam' cigarettes and 14 packets of `Djarum Super' Brunei Direct Brunei Wed, 02 Jul 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/080702/world/scruggs_sentencing_1 http://tobacco.org/news/268014.html The son of anti-tobacco lawyer Richard (Dickie) Scruggs has been sentenced to 14 months in prison for knowing about a judicial bribery scandal and not reporting it to authorities. Zach Scruggs was sentenced Wednesday by the same federal judge who last week sent his father to prison for five years for planning to bribe a Mississippi judge. The sentence for Zach Scruggs went beyond the prosecution's recommendation of probation. The charge was misprision of a felony, which meant he had knowledge of a crime and didn't report it. AP Wed, 02 Jul 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.bostonherald.com/news/opinion/columnists/view.bg?articleid=1104514 http://tobacco.org/news/268006.html The $1-per-pack increase in the state cigarette tax is retroactive. Odd, isn't it, how a tax cut is never retroactive, only an increase is. But then, we don't have tax cuts around here anymore, do we? This is how it works now in the bluest state: The Legislature needed an extra day to decide which corporate loopholes to close, mainly because so many lobbyists were buzzing around, shouting, "Another round over here!" But there was one thing that all the solons could agree on: Smokers must pay more. After all, smokers don't have any amen chorus at the State House. And by the way, you know that extra buck per pack all you smokers are going to have to pay? It's really $1.05, because on top of the state excise tax on cigarettes, you're going to have to add the 5 percent state sales tax. . . . This raises Massachusetts cigarette taxes from 17th in the nation to fifth. Altogether now: Yes, we can! New Hampshire raised its cigarette taxes a quarter per pack yesterday, and they still look like good guys. The more we raise taxes on anything, the more money New Hampshire makes. Boston Herald Wed, 02 Jul 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.lowellsun.com/ci_9762735?IADID=Search-www.lowellsun.com-www.lowellsun.com http://tobacco.org/news/268005.html Smokers across the Bay State are in store for even steeper prices. The tax on a pack of cigarettes in Massachusetts is now a dollar more under a bill signed into law by Gov. Deval Patrick yesterday. The increase brings Massachusetts' cigarette tax to $2.51 per pack, one of the highest in the nation. The average price for a pack of cigarettes in Massachusetts will now be $6.41. Supporters say the tax will put $174 million in the state's coffers to help pay for growing health-care costs. Those who oppose the bill see another result. Namely, a mass exodus of smokers who live near New Hampshire abandoning Massachusetts businesses. At Dracut Town Variety on Lakeview Avenue, where a pack of Marlboros cost $5.70 with tax yesterday, owner Mahendra Patel is struggling to compete with New Hampshire's lower prices. He knows it's only going to get tougher. Lowell Sun ccamire@lowellsun.com ( Chris Camire) Wed, 02 Jul 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.b92.net/eng/news/crimes-article.php?yyyy=2008&mm=06&dd=30&nav_id=51526 http://tobacco.org/news/267925.html The trial of an organized cigarette smuggling group continued today at the Special Organized Crime Court in Belgrade. The members of the network, allegedly led by Stanko Subotić, are charged for having illegally imported cigarettes to Serbia during the 1990s. There has been no official explanation yet regarding the Russian authorities’ recent rejection of a request to extradite Subotić, held in Moscow since April and released last week, the Ministry of Justice said today. . . . The trial continued this morning with former Milošević-era Federal Customs chief Mihalj Kertes entering his plea. Kertes rejected all charges against him and said that "the only correct thing in the entire indictment" was his name. "The indictment says that I let trucks [loaded with cigarettes] through for three gangs, but it doesn’t say that I took my share. That’s impossible. Why would I allow the trucks to enter the country and not take my share? The prosecutor is trying to make me look like an imbecile . . . Kertes was indicted for his alleged membership in a criminal gang led by Mirjana Marković, and Marko Milošević – the wife and son of Slobodan Milošević. . . . The former customs chief also repeated the defense he used at his other trials, saying that "his end began" after he was appointed to the job, and after he managed to suppress smuggling and increase the customs revenues mulitfold in 1994. Radio B92 Yugoslavia Serbia Mon, 30 Jun 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080629/NEWS02/806290403 http://tobacco.org/news/267850.html Officials are still assessing the impact of the tripling of Tennessee's cigarette tax as some smokers have begun buying in other states to save money. . . . Tennessee's cigarette tax increased July 1, 2007, in a move intended to help fund a half-billion dollar plan to improve public schools. Now the tax is higher than that of eight neighboring states. Three months later, the state also launched a ban on smoking in offices, restaurants and other public places and limited smoking to adult-only businesses, such as bars or smoking lounges. Tennessee's higher general sales-tax rate and extra 25-cents-per-pack tax over neighboring Georgia has some Chattanooga smokers heading south of the border to buy cigarettes. . . . Tennessee ranks No. 5 nationally in tobacco use at 24.3 percent, behind Kentucky 28.2 percent, West Virginia 26.9 percent, Oklahoma 25.8 percent and Missouri 24.5 percent, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention records show. "We call it the 'Tennessee trifecta,"' said Pete Fisher, vice president for state issues at the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids The Tennessean Sun, 29 Jun 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.heartland.org/Article.cfm?artId=23455 http://tobacco.org/news/267847.html When someone has a nicotine craving and no money to buy a pack of cigarettes made extremely expensive by state and local taxes, who can he or she turn to? In Chicago, New York, and many other cities across the country, there is likely to be a "loose square man" ready to sell a single cigarette or two. . . . Such tax rebellions are something of an American tradition. John Hancock, signer of the Declaration of Independence, was one of many in the American revolutionary movement who engaged in smuggling, selling legal products that high taxes made too expensive for many people to afford. Today's loose square man may not be a John Hancock, but he is following in this Founding Father's footsteps by providing a legal product many people cannot afford a pack at a time because of growing cigarette tax burdens. Heartland Institute dmiller@heartland.org (Darrell Moore) Mon, 30 Jun 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://toronto.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20080627/illegal_cigarettes_080627/20080627/?hub=TorontoNewHome http://tobacco.org/news/267779.html Police say they nabbed a tractor trailer carrying 1,700 cases of illegal cigarettes early Friday morning on Highway 401 in Brockville, Ont. Police say the cigarettes, which they believe were manufactured in the U.S. and bound for the Canadian black market, are worth almost $1.9 million. A 43-year-old man from the Toronto area was arrested and charged with possession of illegal tobacco. Canadian Press Canada Sat, 28 Jun 2008 04:00:00 GMT