Alleged Counterfeit Cigarette Smugglers Charged Following Sting Operation
Undercover federal agents posing as buyers of counterfeit cigarettes from India led to federal charges against two Indian citizens, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida said in a recent news release. Abhishek Shukla and Harish Shabhai…
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Panchal and two companies were charged with conspiring to smuggle the counterfeit cigarettes, the Justice Department said. The defendants allegedly worked to send cigarettes to the U.S. from India that were fraudulently labeled as Newport cigarettes, it said. The agents negotiated sales of three containers worth of the counterfeit cigarettes, which were all seized by CBP at the Port of Miami over the last year. The cigarettes would be worth over $4 million if real, the DOJ said. The agents and the defendants also met in Miami in August. "During the recorded meeting, they advised the agents that they had been partners for twelve years and personally oversaw the production of all the product being offered," the DOJ said. "They also assured the agents that they could counterfeit any American-made menthol cigarette with no problem, as well as other trademarked brands and that they could produce tobacco blends which would closely match the legitimate product."