Man Arrested With Untaxed Cigarettes and $18K, Investigators Say

FLUSHING, QUEENS — A man was arrested with nearly 200 cartons of untaxed cigarettes and $18,000 in cash, investigators said.

Flushing resident Minyan Zhu, 30, was arrested on March 22 after a joint investigation by the city's Department for Taxation and Finance, the district attorney's Office and other law enforcement officials.

Zhu was seen loading three packages into a vehicle which was then followed by investigators, officials said.

The vehicle was later stopped and the packages found to be 183 cartons of contraband cigarettes. More than $18,000 was recovered along with the cigarettes. The cigarettes were to be sold on Northern Boulevard in Flushing, according to a spokesman for the Department of Taxation and Finance.

"The sale of untaxed cigarettes is an illegal business venture that cheats the city and state out of much needed tax revenue," Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown said in statement.

"As a result, tobacco bootleggers make victims of honest taxpayers by forcing them to dig deeper into their own pockets in order to pay higher taxes and make it impossible for legitimate businesses to compete. We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to hold accountable those who allegedly orchestrate these kinds of schemes."

Zhu was released and his next court date had not been set as of Thursday afternoon.

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