A Roanoke Rapids man is among several to plead guilty in a 40-count federal indictment in a two-year undercover investigation involving the trafficking of contraband cigarettes.
According to a news release, Operation Smoke Screen involved a group of Middle Eastern males who allegedly trafficked cigarettes from Raleigh to New York, New Jersey, Virginia and South Carolina, as well as other parts of the state.
The men indicted include Nabil Nfiz Mustafa, 26, of Greensboro, Emad Hasan Tawfiq Wshah, 39, of Winterville, Mamoun Hasah Wshae, 40, of Greenville, Sobhi Sulieman Sheeadeh of Roanoke Rapids and Omar M. Nijim, 24, of Brooklyn.
Sheeadeh at one time ran a candy store in Roanoke Rapids across from the Hardee's on Tenth Street.
The men are charged with following;
•Transport contraband cigarettes exceeding 10,000 cigarettes, which bore no evidence of payment of the applicable State cigarette taxes.
•Transporting stolen goods valued at more than $5,000 in interstate commerce.
•Evading federal excise taxes by unlawfully purchasing, possessing and selling “Export Only” cigarettes, and transporting them to and in the Eastern District of North Carolina and elsewhere.
During the course of the conspiracy, the defendants purchased "alleged" stolen cigarettes and "Export Only" cigarettes and shipped over $21,000,000 worth of contraband cigarettes throughout North Carolina and the Eastern United States to ABC licensed outlets and other retail outlet stores. The investigation revealed that the conspirators were obtaining cases of contraband cigarettes from North Carolina, a lower state tax state, and traveling to New York and New Jersey to sell the cigarettes, where the state and local taxes are much higher.
During the undercover operations and subsequent arrest and search warrant execution, agents seized approximately $1.9 million dollars in cash, approximately $10 million dollars in bank accounts, including an ATF churning account, a 1999 Ferrari F355 Spider, a 2008 BMW X5 SUV, a 2009 Chevrolet Tahoe and a 2010 Ford F-150.
On February 23 agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives along with state and local law enforcement agencies, executed seven federal search warrants and five federal arrest warrants in North Carolina.
On September 15, 2011, a federal jury in Greenville, North Carolina convicted Nijim of one count of conspiring to traffic in contraband cigarettes.
The evidence showed that Nijim traveled from New York to a rest area in Linden, New Jersey, on two separate occasions to purchase contraband cigarettes from ATF agents acting in an undercover capacity. On December 1, 2009, conspirators paid undercover agents $248,280 for 9,540 cartons of contraband cigarettes. On January 13, 2010, conspirators paid $180,000 for 9,000 cartons of contraband cigarettes. Contraband cigarettes means a quantity in excess of 10,000 cigarettes, which bear no evidence of the payment of State or local cigarette taxes in the State where they are found. The evidence also showed that Nijim was previously convicted of possession of contraband cigarettes in Suffolk County, New York, on April 14, 2010. In December, 2011, Nijim was sentenced to 36 months imprisonment by Senior United States District Court Judge Malcolm J. Howard.
Mustafa, Sheeadeh, and Wshah and Mamoun Wshah all pled guilty to conspiring to transport stolen goods valued at more than $5,000 in interstate commerce.
On January 10 Mustafa was sentenced to 20 months imprisonment and Emad Wshah was sentenced to 26 months imprisonment.
The Court also forfeited over $11.8 million dollars in assets, including cash, bank accounts, and vehicles. Sentencing for Mamoun Wshah and Sheeadeh are pending.
