Gulfport Man Pleads Guilty to Trafficking in Contraband Cigarettes
Published 9:45 pm Sunday, September 19, 2021
Gulfport, Miss. – A Gulfport man pled guilty today to trafficking in contraband cigarettes, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Darren J. LaMarca and Acting Special Agent in Charge Jack Staton of Homeland Security Investigations in New Orleans.
According to court documents, Sadeq Saif Farea a/k/a Sadeq Saif Qaid Farea, 43, knowingly purchased for resale 42,000 cigarettes and 36,000 cigarillos, which bore no evidence of the payment of cigarette taxes in the State of Mississippi, constituting contraband cigarettes.
Farea is scheduled to be sentenced on November 29, 2021, and faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. A federal district judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Homeland Security Investigations is investigating the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrea Jones is prosecuting the case.
