Cigarette Smuggler Arrested in Harford County: Transportation Officials

HARFORD COUNTY, MD — A traffic stop for speeding led to the arrest of a North Carolina man this week who had more than 1,100 packs of cigarettes in his car, the Maryland Transportation Authority reported.

Issam Ali Ahmad, 53, of Raleigh, North Carolina, was pulled over on Interstate 95 in his Toyota Sienna for exceeding the speed limit on Monday, authorities said.

During a probable cause search, officials reported finding almost 1,200 packs of unstamped cigarettes.

People in Maryland are allowed to possess five cartons or fewer of untaxed cigarettes. Cigarettes without Maryland tax stamps may be seized as contraband, along with vehicles used for transporting them.

The cartons that were in Ahmad's car could be sold for an estimated value of $77,000, officials said. He was allegedly on his way from North Carolina to New Jersey.

Maryland Comptroller Director of Field Enforcement Jeffrey Kelly praised the collaboration between state field enforcement agents and the Maryland Transportation Authority Police, which he said "has yielded many successful arrests of those who would, without regard for others or the law, seek only to benefit themselves through unlawful conduct."

Ahmad was charged with transporting cigarettes within Maryland without the tobacco tax being paid and unlawfully possessing more than 30 cartons of unstamped cigarettes. The total tax loss for the state of Maryland is $24,000, according to officials.

Photo courtesy of the Maryland Transportation Authority.