Terror Financing And The Black Market Cigarette Trade
In Pennsylvania last month, state representatives Russ Diamond and Rick Saccone challenged a $1-per-pack cigarette tax increase (which was later passed into law), arguing that the price hike would regressively target poorer smokers and encourage black market sales. More critically, the two lawmakers pointed out that increased sales of smuggled tobacco would put more money in the pockets of violent extremists who wish to do Americans harm.
That argument raised eyebrows in the press, but the point made by Diamond and Saccone is a critically important one. A major 2015 report from the State Department identified tobacco smuggling as a major threat to national security, noting that selling illegal cigarettes is a relatively “low-risk, high reward” activity for criminal networks and terror groups, who often join forces to exploit the illicit trade.
Related Posts
Delhi: 44-year-old woman arrested at Delhi Airport for smuggling gold worth Rs 50 lakh
New Delhi , December 17 (ANI): A 44-year-old woman was arrested at Indira...
Anti-tobacco lobby herald price hike
A packet of cigarettes will cost €10 from today in a move welcomed by...
CBP seizes $30 million shipment of fake handbags and clothing ahead of holidays
US customs officers have seized a container filled with more than $30 million...
Former Ridgeland corrections officer pleads guilty to smuggling contraband.
A former Ridgeland corrections officer pleaded guilty in federal court Sept. 19...