Bayside man and five others charged in six-year scheme to traffic $30 million in untaxed cigarettes

A man from Bayside and five others could each face up to 10 years in prison for allegedly conspiring to traffic over $30 million in contraband cigarettes, federal prosecutors announced Jan. 24.

The office of United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York announced that the six suspects were arrested Jan. 23 and are set to appear in court on Jan. 31.

According to the allegations in the indictment, Bayside resident Yue Juan Chen, 41, Brooklyn residents Shao Jun Guo, 42, Shui Ying Lin, 43 and Wo Kit Cheng, 44 and Manhattan residents Jian Jiang Feng and Zhurong Gao, 66, “engaged in a scheme to smuggle and traffic $30 million of untaxed cigarettes in the United States to avoid at least $30 million in taxes.”

Information from the indictment said that the suspects’ illegal activity took place from June 2013 through January 2019.

Read more: https://www.timesledger.com/stories/2019/5/untaxedcigarettes_2019_02_01_q.html