A major investigation into illegal tobacco trafficking entered a new phase Thursday with the indictment of 41 people in Gwinnett County.
The individuals, who were arrested last October, face a variety of charges depending on their alleged roles, including racketeering, possession of cigarettes with counterfeit stamps and possession of unstamped cigarettes.
The crime ring includes both retailers and wholesalers who were practicing tax evasion on a large scale by purchasing counterfeit tax stamps, officials said at the time of the arrests last fall.
Authorities say the trafficking has cost the state millions of dollars in lost tax revenue and lined the pockets of those involved with substantial profit.
At least seven federal and state agencies were involved in the investigation that led to the arrests.
The suspects were not only from Gwinnett. Others were from the Macon area and in outlying metro counties.
Those indicted include: Anandkumar Acharya, Rishi Bector, Sanjay Bector, Reshma Khakiani, Parwaiz Panjwani, Balbir Singh, Harjinder Singh, Sadiq Khakiani, Mamadou Bah, Antonio Bakkos, Sibi Cherian, Sonu Cherian, Amadou Diallo, Jojo John, Silvester Joseph, Saji Kurian, Kuruvillia Mathew, Shaju Mathew, Wilson Paul, Reji Samuel, Shaji Sukumar, Javed Ajani Azim Jivani, Saeed Ahmed, Karim Ali, Dilshad Lakhan, Pragnesh Patel, Amin Alibhai, Uday Desai, Shirish Patel, Mamud Dhanani, Firoz Sayani, Mohammad Hussain , Aftab Lakhani, Shafeeq Mohammed, Talha Mumtaz, Maheshkumar Patel, Ankitkumar Patel, Kanaiyalal Patel, Rashmikan Patel, and Jackson Kudilil.
Staff writer Alexis Stevens contributed to this report.
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