Cigarette Smuggling Linked to Terrorism (WashPost)

[Romulus]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A23384-2004Jun7.html

Smugglers with ties to terrorist groups are acquiring millions of dollars from illegal cigarette sales and funneling the cash to organizations such as al Qaeda and Hezbollah, federal law enforcement officials say, prompting a nationwide crackdown on black market tobacco.

The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has more than 300 open cases of illicit cigarette trafficking -- including several with terrorist links -- up from only a handful five years ago, ATF sources said.

*snip*

The lucrative trafficking of cigarettes, known as cigarette diversion, is a simple scheme but difficult to stop, law enforcement officials say. The traffickers purchase a large volume of cigarettes in states where the tax is low, such as Virginia and North Carolina, transport them up Interstate 95 to states such as Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey and then sell them at a discount without paying the higher cigarette taxes in those states.

*snip*

A smuggler can make about $2 million on a single truckload of cigarettes. A truckload contains 800 cases, or 48,000 cartons

*snip/lots more*

Just wait till you have to provide a thumb print when buying cigarettes at the local 6-10 :eyes:, or registering your purchases with BATFE.

[OpSomBlood]

1. The solution is clear - ban cigarettes.

If you ban guns, cigarettes, boxcutters and fertilizer, you will end terrorism as we know it.

[tandot]

2. if you smoke...you support terrorists...you are a traitor

If you speak out against Bush...you support terrorists...you are a traitor.

If you vote for Kerry...you support terrorists...you are a traitor


But it is totally alright to drive a gas guzzling Hummer which you fill up with Saudi oil (since those guys are the good guys with NO ties to the Bin Laden family, Al Qaeda, or terrorists)

[Frodo_Baggins]

3. Obviously Russians make no oil

:)

[tandot]

4. Do you get your oil from Russia?

http://ask.yahoo.com/ask/20030919.html

The top five crude oil imports from foreign countries to the U.S. for May breaks down as follows:

17.8% from Saudi Arabia
16.5% from Canada
12.8% from Venezuela
12.0% from Mexico
7.5% from Nigeria

From January to May of 2003, the U.S. received 42.8% of its imported oil from OPEC nations and 23.5% from Persian Gulf countries.

[Zynx]

5. Cold War legacy

United States doesn't trust the Russians. Stupid, frankly. They make much better allies than the Saudis, PLUS they have the same view on Islamic terrorists that we do.

[TexasMexican]

6. I guess that means that high sin taxes support terrorism.