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MONDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2003

"The indictment of 11 persons last week on federal racketeering charges in connection with an alleged scheme to fund Hezbollah is a stark reminder that al Qaeda is hardly the lone terrorist group operating in the United States.

The indictment, unsealed last Tuesday, alleges that the conspirators — nine from the Detroit area and two from the New York-based Seneca Indian tribe — ran a cigarette smuggling ring to funnel assistance to Hezbollah, which has killed more Americans than any other terrorist group save al Qaeda.

The federal government charges that the smugglers purchased more than $500,000 worth of cigarettes in North Carolina, where taxes are 50 cents a carton, and illegally transported them to Michigan, where cigarettes are taxed at $12.50 per carton. The plot also involved smuggling cigarettes to Michigan from a New York Indian reservation, where cigarettes are untaxed."

Get the Story:
Editorial: Cigarette taxes for terrorists (The Washington Times 2/10)