The Keweenaw Bay Indian Community sells tobacco at The Pines Convenience Center, a gas station and convenience store in Baraga, Michigan. Photo from Facebook

The Keweenaw Bay Indian Community is criticizing the state of Michigan for seizing 184 cases of cigarettes that were going to be sold on the reservation.

The cigarettes were manufactured by a company based on the Six Nations of the Grand River in Ontario, Canada. As such, the tribe believes the state had no right to seize the products.

But the state claims the cigarettes didn't bear tax stamps on them. The Michigan Attorney General's Office said an investigation is ongoing, WLUC-TV reported.

The tribe is one of two in Michigan without a tobacco tax compact, The Houghton Daily Mining Gazette reported. Ten others signed compacts, according to the Michigan Department of Treasury.

Get the Story:
State Police troopers seize cigarettes headed to KBIC businesses (WLUC 2/16)
Tribe: Cigarette seizures infringe on sovereignty (The Houghton Daily Mining Gazette 2/17)
Tobacco taxation old battle for KBIC, state (The Houghton Daily Mining Gazette 2/17)