Annapolis, MD (June 15, 2007) - Agents for Comptroller Peter Franchot yesterday confiscated over 1300 packs of illegal cigarettes along with almost 2000 packages of Other Tobacco Products (OTP) from a Wicomico County business. At 12:04 p.m., agents executed a search and seizure warrant at PITCO Fuel and Food, located at 834 East Main Street, in Salisbury. Agents found the business selling cigarettes without the required license as well as possessing OTP without registration.
"The Comptroller's Office does not tolerate illegal operators who break the law and hurt other local, law-abiding businesses," said Comptroller Franchot. "My agents will continue to enforce Maryland's tobacco laws to protect those who operate properly."
The bust resulted from a month-long investigation of the business whose owner/operator had been previously warned to cease the sale of cigarettes and ordered to immediately obtain a cigarette license. Comptroller agents, working undercover, went back to the business and once again purchased cigarettes while the business remained unlicensed. Yesterday's warrant serving netted 1,310 packs of illegal cigarettes. In addition to cigarettes, agents discovered and confiscated a total of 1,972 packages of OTP for which no invoice or registration could be produced.
The business owner/operator, Teryl Lynn Dryden, 49, of Allen, Md. faces charges of unlawfully selling cigarettes without the required license in addition to doing business without the required trader's license. The penalty for selling cigarettes without a license is a $1,000 fine and/or 30 days in jail while businesses found operating without a trader's license are subject to a $300 fine and/or 30 days in jail. Both violations are misdemeanors. Charges involving the OTP products are pending.
So far in fiscal year 2007, the Comptroller's enforcement agents have charged 62 individuals with tobacco violations and have confiscated a total of 59,086 packs of cigarettes with an estimated value of approximately $238,984.94.
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CONTACT: Christine Duray, 410-260-6346 (office), 443-336-0215 (cell)
