Monthly Archives: May 2014

Editor’s Note: See the Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service video on the unique fire hazard of counterfeit cigaretttes here.

From: Burnley Express

A housebound Burnley man died in a fire after smoking counterfeit Russian cigarettes in bed.

James Thompson (57), of Kay Gardens, died from excessive burns after his bedding caught fire as he smoked a Russian Jin Ling cigarette.

Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service Watch Manager Neil Hardiman told an inquest the Russian cigarettes were not fitted with reduced ignition propensity, as was standard in British-made cigarettes, which would have prevented them from burning their entire length.

From: Associated Press via ABC News

By Michael Felberbaum

Reynolds American Inc. is inviting lawmakers, law enforcement officials and others to take a trip along “the New Tobacco Road,” where organized criminals are garnering huge profits for smuggling cigarettes and selling them on the black market with a quick drive along the East Coast’s major interstate.

The owner of the nation’s second-biggest tobacco company launched a website Thursday aimed at raising awareness of cigarette trafficking, which is estimated to cost states $5.5 billion annually in lost tax revenue. Reynolds said it hopes the site with studies and news reports will help illustrate that cigarette smuggling isn’t a victimless crime and provide governments with information about stiffening penalties and increasing enforcement.

From: Cecil Whig

By Jacob Owens

NORTH EAST — Two men were charged with smuggling cigarettes after they were stopped with thousands of packs on Interstate 95, police reported.

About 5:09 p.m. Saturday, Maryland State Police trooper Duane Freeman pulled a 2013 Kia Optima over for exceeding the speed limit on the northbound interstate near mile marker 103.4, according to a state of probable cause. After conducting the stop, a K-9 scan of the car was requested and it resulted in a positive alert for controlled dangerous substances, police reported.

From: 89.3 KPCC Southern California Public Radio

Out of the all the imported goods that come into the U.S., 43 percent of it goes through the Port of Los Angeles.

Everyday, shipments of electronics, cars, produce, clothing, and more arrive here from overseas bound for stores and homes across the country. But every now and then, not all is what it appears to be, and that beautiful Chanel handbag or those Beats by Dr Dre headphones?

A cheap copycat.

From: Herald.ie

By Ken Foy

The murder of Real IRA boss Alan Ryan in September 2012, was perhaps the most significant gangland killing of the past decade, as the ramifications of the savage gun slaying are still being felt today.

At the time he was shot dead in broad daylight in a north Dublin suburban street, Ryan was the major player in dissident republicanism in the capital and was also embroiled in a number of bitter feuds with dangerous criminal gangs.