Contraband Cigarettes Seized
Contact: Lynn M. Walding, Administrator 515.281-7402 / 515.229.7777
Onawa, Iowa, April 5, 2002 – The Iowa Alcoholic Beverages
Division seized 325 packs of unstamped cigarettes from an Onawa
tobacco outlet on Thursday.
The B & B Roundup was found to be in possession of cigarettes
without the required state revenue tax stamps. The excise tax of
thirty-six cents (36¢) a pack had not been paid on the cigarettes
that had come from the nearby Omaha Tribe of Nebraska Indian Reservation.
“Contraband cigarettes not only short change the state of revenue,
they also provide unfair competition for legitimate retailers who
faithfully pay the tax,” observed Lynn Walding, Administrator
of the Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division. “Revenue generated
from the tobacco excise tax supports and is necessary to offset
the health care costs associated with smoking.”
The Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division, acting on an anonymous tip,
worked with the Onawa Police Department in confiscating the bootlegged
cigarettes. Chief Gary Addy of the Onawa Police Department stated,
“As a partner in Iowa Pledge, Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division’s
tobacco enforcement program, the Onawa Police Department is committed
to upholding and enforcing all of the state’s tobacco laws
in this community.”
The B & B Roundup, which is owned by Dale and Ralph Bean of
Onawa, faces a $1,000 civil penalty.
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