Seven more defendants of 50 initially arrested in an illegal tobacco traffic ring have pleaded guilty in Gwinnett County Superior Court, prosecutors said Tuesday.
The pleas bring to 14 the number of suspects convicted to date in the operation, which spanned several counties and involved the illegal possession, sale and distribution of contraband cigarettes, according to the Georgia Attorney General's Office.
Saji Kurian, Talha Mumtaz, Amin Alibhai, Rashmikan Patel, Kanaiyalel Patel and Ankitkumar Patel pleaded guilty to possession of cigarettes with counterfeit stamps, and Pragnesh Patel pleaded guilty to theft by taking, prosecutors said.
Judge Ronnie K. Batchelor sentenced them under the first offender act to varying lengths of probation or house arrest and ordered all but one of them to pay restitution ranging from $5,000 to $29,105.
As a condition of probation, the defendants will have to surrender any tobacco licenses they may have and while on probation cannot seek a tobacco license, sell cigarettes or own or work for a business that sells cigarettes.
The indictments resulted from a joint federal and state investigation by the Atlanta Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Georgia Attorney General's Office, Georgia Department of Revenue, Gwinnett County District Attorney's Office, Lawrenceville Police Department and Gwinnett County Sheriff's Department.
A three-year investigation by the ATF led to multiple arrests in October. Assistant Attorney General Greg Lohmeier is prosecuting the case.
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