Indian-American from Georgia sentenced after pleading guilty to cigarette smuggling charge

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Sukhdev Singh Virdi, of Dacula, Georgia, was sentenced Aug. 20, to three years probation for unlawful cigarette smuggling. Chief U.S. District Judge Gina M. Groh presided over the case.

Virdi, age 46, pled guilty to one count of “Conspiracy to Traffic in Untaxed Cigarettes” in June 2017. Virdi admitted to conspiring to profit from the unlawful sale of contraband cigarettes, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of West Virginia.

Virdi was the store manager of American Cigarette Outlet, Inc., in Clearbrook, Virginia, which did business as Virginia Cigarette Outlet and Clearbrook Cigarettes. He admitted to transporting large quantities of cigarettes across state lines for redistribution and sale, the press release said.

The cigarettes were acquired in Virginia, where the tax rate for cigarettes is one of the lowest in the nation, and sold in other states, including New York, which has one of the nation’s highest tax rates.  The cigarettes were possessed and transported in West Virginia, the press release said.