The individuals charged include: Nabil Nafiz Mustafa, 26, of Thomasville, North Carolina; Emad Hasan Tawiq Wshah, 39, of Winterville; Mamoun Hasah Wshah, 40, of Winterville; Sobhi Sulieman Shehadeh, 55, of Roanoke Rapids and Omar M. Nijim, 24, of Brooklyn, New York. Charges included conspiring to transport, receive cigarettes in quantities exceeding 10,000 without the requisite tax stamp, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 371, which carries a penalty of up to five years’ imprisonment; aiding and abetting transportation of stolen goods of a value of more than$5,000 in interstate commerce, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 2314, and 21, which carries a penalty of up ten years’ imprisonment; and aiding and abetting the evasion of taxes by the purchase, possession and sale of “export only” cigarettes without federal taxes outside the United States, in violation of Title 26, United States Code, which carries a penalty of up to five years’ imprisonment.
According to the Indictment, beginning in 2008, through 2011, Mustafa, Emad and Mamoun Wshah and Shehadeh repeatedly traveled by trucks, usually Penske or Ryder, from North Carolina businesses for buying large quantities of cigarettes outside the normal flow of commerce. The defendants would arrive at a pre- determined time and place in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia carrying large quantities of cash to complete the purchases of cigarettes and then promptly return to distribute the cigarettes. Nijim would travel to meet Mustafa in New Jersey to obtain the diverted, stolen or “export only” cigarettes for distribution up north. Profits were reinvested in the scheme to buy additional cigarettes. The gross from the defendants’ illegal activities is estimated to be at least $2,463,529.80.
An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.
Investigation of this case was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the North Carolina Division of Alcohol Law Enforcement; and the Zebulon Police Department.
comments
AMEN BROTHER!!
Amen!!!!!! They are more worried about a little weed than they are the murders, assaults and robberies that have been going on recently. Sometimes I wish they would get their priorities straight.
RSS feed for comments to this post