Forest Hills Man Busted For Smuggling Foreign Cigarettes

A Forest Hills man was arrested for trying to smuggle 179 cartons of cigarettes into the country tax-free earlier this month, with an estimated tax value at just under $11,000.

Bobirjon Shakirov, of 110th Street in Forest Hills, allegedly arrived at Kennedy International Airport earlier this month after travelling in Uzbekistan. He brought along the dozens of cartons of cigarettes but did not disclose them to customs agents.

Shakirov was charged with a violation of New York State tax law 1814 and one count of first-degree falsifying records. He could serve up to four years in prison and faces a possible fine. He was released on his own recognizance and is currently awaiting trial.

A representative of the Queens District Attorney's office said the 36-year-old man checked a huge suitcase full to the brim with cigarette cartons, which turned up when the bag was searched by the Transportation Safety Administration.

All cigarettes sold in New York City and State require a tax stamp to prove that the companies selling them have paid the requisite fees. The stamps are also used to indicate which cigarettes have been tested for legal levels of tar, nicotine and the extinguishing mechanism required in American smokes.

Shakirov was just one of a alleged dozen smugglers busted trying to illegally move foreign cigarettes stateside, thanks to a new program spearheaded by the Queens District Attorney. Others from Middle Village and Flushing were caught in similar incidents over the course of the last month.

Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said that keeping the smoke smugglers from selling their goods could save the state millions of dollars every year.

“Cigarette smuggling to evade state and local taxes is a multi- million dollar industry. It is a highly profitable tax-free cash business for those involved in it. However, it cheats taxpayers who must dip into their pockets to pay higher taxes,” Brown said. “And it cheats the government as well by fueling an underground economy which does not pay much needed State and City taxes.”

Brown said that the 12 defendants recently arrested would have — if not caught — cheated the state and city out of more than a quarter of a million dollars in revenue.

All of the busts were made by the brand new Crimes Against Revenue Unit, designed to sniff out tax-dodgers across the borough.

“The addition of the Crimes Against Revenue Unit will enhance ongoing specialized efforts begun by this office in 2005, targeting tax evasion and other revenue and financial crimes, which has already returned to the State more than $5 million in sorely needed revenues,” Brown said.