Shakil Wamiq, Contraband Cigarette Trafficking, Wisconsin 2013

GRIMY TIMES EXCLUSIVE

Wisconsin, July 17, 2013 – Shakil Wamiq, 34, and Mazher Khan, 49, both of Illinois, were sentenced for their roles in a cigarette trafficking scheme that caused tax losses of $220,882.20.

Wamiq, who operated as an Illinois distributor known as Good Deal Wholesale, Inc., was convicted of four counts of contraband cigarette trafficking in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2342(a). He was sentenced to 21 months in prison and ordered to pay $220,882.20 in restitution to the Illinois Department of Revenue. A money judgment of forfeiture in the amount of $472,993.20 was also ordered based on the defendant’s illicit gains.

Khan, who operated in Illinois as MAK Distributors, was convicted of three counts of contraband cigarette trafficking. He was sentenced to two years of probation, with the condition that he serve 180 days of home confinement. Khan was also ordered to pay $58,150 in restitution to the Illinois Department of Revenue and a money judgment of forfeiture in the amount of $125,308.80. A 2009 Ford Econoline van registered to Khan was also forfeited as property used to facilitate the crime.

The investigation into the cigarette trafficking scheme was initiated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) based on a complaint from a local citizen who alleged that his business was being financially undercut by persons who were dealing in untaxed tobacco products. The investigation included an undercover warehouse in Milwaukee and an undercover agent posing as a source for untaxed cigarettes.

The videos showed the defendants purchasing cases of untaxed cigarettes with cash that was sometimes brought in shopping bags. The warehouse was devoid of accoutrements normally associated with a legitimate business, and the videos showed the defendants themselves loading the contraband cigarettes into their respective vehicles.

Wamiq and Khan were both convicted in April 2013 by a jury in the Eastern District of Wisconsin. Other defendants involved in the scheme included Mohammad Uddin, Adil Majid, Haroon Bheri, Maher Sunnokrot, and Mohammed Mazharuddin. Uddin received a six-month prison sentence to be followed by six months of home confinement and was ordered to pay $565,068 in restitution. Majid and Bheri each received a probationary sentence with a condition of 180 days home confinement. Sunnokrot and Mazharuddin both received a probationary sentence and were ordered to pay $66,400 in restitution.

Farrukh Aslam, a fugitive, and Ahsan Uddin, who is being supervised under the terms of a deferred prosecution agreement, are also being investigated for their roles in the scheme.

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