Four charged in $5.7m cigarette ring

SCITUATE, RI (AP):

Four Syrian men are facing charges they participated in a cigarette smuggling ring in Rhode Island that relied on cigarettes from southern states with lower cigarette taxes to swindle the cash-strapped Ocean State out of an estimated US$5.7 million in tax revenue, authorities said on Wednesday.

Investigators say the ring is the biggest in state history, including the seizure of more than 168,000 cigarette packs in Rhode Island, Virginia and South Carolina over two days, according to state police superintendent, Col Steven G. O'Donnell. He added 15 Rhode Island stores were caught selling contraband cigarettes.

"The citizens of this state are hurting and we have people ... who have figured out a way to make money off the backs of others," O'Donnell said.