South Florida Man Charged with International Cigarette Smuggling
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agents on September 17, 2010 arrested Arturo Marrero, 47, of Davie, Florida on charges of smuggling cigarettes out of Miami to the European Union.
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According to the indictment, Marrero arranged for the purchase of other cargo, such as bolts of cotton yarn and office furniture, to be used as cover loads to conceal the cigarettes, which were re-packed with the cover load material. Thereafter, he prepared false bills of lading for export that only declared the cover load material. Then he presented these bills of landing to the shipping companies and overseas customs services. Customs duties and taxes were based on the falsely declared cargo, thus no duties or taxes were paid on the cigarettes.
The indictment further alleges that from approximately February 2001 through April 2006, Marrero sent multiple shipments of the smuggled cigarettes to various European Union countries, resulting in millions of dollars of unpaid duties and taxes.