You may not have known that cigarette smuggling is even a thing. Well, it is, and a New Jersey man is in custody after being arrested on Interstate 81 in Augusta County with a lot of smokes in his rental car.
Kahtan Seidi, 28, of Clifton, N.J., was detained after a traffic stop on I-81 near mile marker 225 just before midnight on Tuesday.
During the stop, an Augusta County sheriff’s deputy observed a large amount of cigarettes in the 2019 Ford Expedition that Seidi was driving.
Large amount, as in, 1,555 cartons of cigarettes, described in a press release as “contraband cigarettes,” with a street value estimated at $202,150.
Seidi has been charged with a single felony count of possession with intent to distribute tax-paid contraband cigarettes.
And you learned something new today.
Story by Chris Graham