Agents Nab Big Haul Of Untaxed Cigarettes 12,000 Cartons Were On Their Way To Puyallup Indian Smoke Shops

The seizure of a 30-foot utility trailer full of untaxed cigarettes is probably the largest of tobacco products since the Liquor Control Board took charge of tobacco-tax enforcement July 31.

Liquor Control Board agents seized the trailer, which contained about 12,000 cartons of cigarettes, on state route 18 late Friday night. Two people were detained for questioning.

The agents stopped the truck near Hobart with the assistance of the Washington State Patrol.

The agents said the vehicle was on its way to make a delivery to Puyallup Indian smoke shops.

Under federal law, Indian smoke shops don’t have to collect the state’s tax on cigarettes sold to tribal members for personal consumption.

But sales of untaxed cigarettes to non-members is illegal.

The state’s tax amounts to 82.5 cents a pack, $8.25 for a 10-pack carton. Non-tribal dealers collect that money and send it to the state.

It was the second seizure in two weeks of untaxed tobacco headed to the same area, agents said. The earlier seizure involved about 5,800 cartons.

The state loses about $109 million a year in tax revenue because of bootleg cigarettes sold at Indian smoke shops, they said.

That represents about 28 percent of all cigarettes smoked in Washington each year.

The Legislature shifted enforcement from the state Department of Revenue to the Liquor Control Board in hopes of turning that situation around, and the board hired an additional 14 agents when it took on the new duties last summer.