DAMN! BAD NEWS 4 THE HOOD! COPS BUST A CIGARETTE SMUGGLING RING!

A sting operation snuffed out a cigarette smuggling operation and led to the arrests of 21 people who cheated the state out of millions in tax dollars, authorities said Friday.
An informant tipped Westchester County cops that 11 men from New York City and others from as far away as Virginia were looking for a steady supply of untaxed smokes, Westchester County District Attorney Janet DiFiore said.

After stockpiling cigarettes from a legitimate manufacturer, agents opened a warehouse in Yonkers. Deputy state tax Commissioner William Comiskey said the operation took in more than $800,000 a week.

Cops found thousands of packs of untaxed Newport and Marlboro smokes and common household irons, used to attach counterfeit tax stamps, in a series of raids, prosecutors said.

The dealers, if convicted, face up to eight years in prison on charges ranging from forgery to tax evasion, authorities said.

In the raids, cops also swept up Gary Burstell, 52, of Cortlandt Manor, who had eight homemade bombs, 14 rifles, a pump action shotgun and thousands of rounds of ammunition.