Crime & Safety

Naperville Man Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy in Cigarette-Trafficking Case

A second man also cited in the federal indictment for bringing untaxed cigarettes into Illinois was referred for deferred prosecution and may eventually have the charges against him dismissed.

The United States Department of Justice announced Monday that seven defendants have been convicted in a Wisconsin federal case involving the trafficking of contraband cigarettes, including Mohammed Uddin, 30, of Naperville.

According  a U.S. Department of Justice release, Uddin pled guilty to a charge of conspiracy, punishable by up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The other 22 counts in the federal indictment—contraband cigarette trafficking and sale of counterfeit stamps—are to be dismissed at sentencing, but considered as relevant conduct.

The other Naperville man named in the indictment, Ashan Uddin, 28, was referred for a deferred prosecution and, if accepted, will have the charges against him dismissed in exchange for completing a set of requirements.

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According to the original indictment, which came after a yearlong Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms investigation, the nine defendants conspired to possess and transport unstamped cigarettes in quantities of 10,000 or more from Wisconsin to Illinois to evade Illinois state and local taxes.

In addition, the indictment also alleged that individual defendants possessed and transported between one and 182 cases (or between 12,000 to over 2 million cigarettes), and that collectively they evaded between $1 million and $4.6 million in state and local taxes. Mohammad Uddin and two other defendants also allegedly sold quantities of counterfeit Wisconsin and Illinois tax stamps. 

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Two other defendants (Shaki Wamiq, 32, of Elgin, and Mazher Ali Khan, 49, of Evergreen Park) were convicted by a federal jury on Friday, while four others “resolved their cases prior to trial,” the U.S. Attorney’s office said.

 “This prosecution and the investigation on which it was premised reflects the continuing, focused commitment of federal law enforcement to identify, pursue, and bring to justice those individuals who not only engage in the unlawful trafficking of contraband but do so in a manner that compromises the legitimate business operations of law-abiding entrepreneurs,” said U.S. Attorney James L. Santelle in a press release.

“In concert with the prosecuting attorneys and professional staff of my office, the ATF Special Agents investigated, developed, and presented compelling evidence of criminal behavior here in Wisconsin and in Illinois, and Friday’s verdict—along with the previous convictions of the other co-defendants—should serve as a deterrent to others who may consider like conduct.”

Uddin is set to be sentenced in June.


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