NewsSeptember 17, 2008
Man given 30 months for smuggling cigarettes
LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Federal prosecutors in Kentucky say a cigarette smuggling case that brought a 30-month prison sentence is one of the largest contraband tobacco cases in the region. Authorities say Howard Mui of Chicago admitted he bought 9 million cigarettes in Kentucky and resold them in Chicago and New York City, which have much higher cigarette taxes...
The Associated Press
LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Federal prosecutors in Kentucky say a cigarette smuggling case that brought a 30-month prison sentence is one of the largest contraband tobacco cases in the region.
Authorities say Howard Mui of Chicago admitted he bought 9 million cigarettes in Kentucky and resold them in Chicago and New York City, which have much higher cigarette taxes.
The Kentucky tax is 30 cents on each of the 455,000 packs Mui acknowledged buying. Chicago's tax is $3.66 per pack and New York's is $4.25.
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Court records show Mui made $1.27 million on the smuggling venture.
A judge on Monday also ordered him to repay the lost tax revenue to Illinois and New York.
Mui's lawyer says the temptation for profit was apparently too much for his client to resist.
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