Counterfeit cigarettes from China seized
To the growing list of stories about adulterated and counterfeit goods being exported from China to the United States, add cigarettes.
Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice said more than half of the 57,960 cartons of cigarettes seized at warehouse in Queens last week are thought to be counterfeit and made in China. Others are thought to have come from Southern states with lower taxes.
Newsday reports some of the confiscated Chinese smokes contain other vegetation and manure.
Rice said the untaxed cigarettes had a street value of more than $3.4 million and that, if sold, the loss in tax revenue to Nassau County and New York State could be more than $1 million.
“A ring of this magnitude is alarming, when you couple the financial blow these crimes have on local budgets with the potential health risks the counterfeit cigarettes can pose to their consumers,” she said.
Authorities said some of the cigarettes were thought to have higher than normal levels of tar and nicotine.
Three Chinese nationals were arrested at the warehouse in Queens.