Acting on a tip from a Maryland State Police trooper, agents with the state Comptroller's office this week confiscated nearly 7,000 packs of contraband cigarettes during a traffic stop on Route 13 in Princess Anne.
Authorities say that during what was described as a routine stop for a traffic violation, Trooper Scott A. Zink observed numerous cases of cigarettes partially hidden under a blanket inside the vehicle. The trooper notified the Comptroller's office of his find. According to investigators, Comptroller's agents arrived on the scene and seized 6,931 packs of illegal cigarettes, valued at more than $40,000.
The driver of the vehicle, Eltobah Nagmuddin, 34, of Brooklyn, N.Y., was arrested and charged with transporting contraband cigarettes and possession of contraband cigarettes in the state of Maryland. The transporting charge is a felony, which carries a $50 per carton fine and/or two years imprisonment; and the possession offense is a misdemeanor, carrying a $1,000 fine and/or imprisonment, not exceeding one year.
Nagmuddin was ordered held in the Somerset County Detention Center, while awaiting a judicial review before a court commissioner.
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