New York Cigarette Smuggling Ring May Have Funneled Money To Hamas, Say Officials

[oberliner]

NEW YORK — A smuggling ring that made a fortune selling more than a million cartons of untaxed cigarettes in New York may have funneled some of the illicit proceeds to terrorist groups, authorities said Thursday.

The traffickers lived modestly and had alleged links to known terrorists, including Omar Abdel-Rahman, the blind cleric serving a life sentence for a conspiracy to blow up New York City landmarks. That combination has raised concerns about where the money went.

"We know they made tens of millions of dollars but so far we've only found a fraction of that," state Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman said while announcing enterprise corruption and other charges against 16 people, all Palestinian immigrants.

Two reputed ringleaders, brothers Basel and Samir Ramadan, were arrested Wednesday in Maryland. Investigators found $1.5 million – some stashed in black plastic garbage bags – in the home and car of Basel Ramadan, authorities said.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/16/new-york-cigarette-smuggling-hamas_n_3288536.html?utm_hp_ref=new-york

[virgogal]

1. In NYC the tax (state and city) on a carton is $58.50. What the

hell did they expect?

And there is also Federal tax.

[Scootaloo]

2. Should have called their organization the "Traditional Values of Patriotic Tea Heritage Association"

Then they'd be owed such an apology by officials