The Connecticut Department of Revenue Services (DRS) announced on April 25 the arrest of 10 people and the seizure of more than $50,000 in cash and $234,000 in contraband tobacco from a Bridgeport tobacco wholesaler.
KDV Discounts LLC of 67A Poland Street in Bridgeport was raided by DRS agents on April 10. The company”™s owner, Pavan M. Vaswani of West Haven, was charged with running an illegal tobacco distribution ring that sold more than $13 million in untaxed tobacco to approximately 450 retail locations in Connecticut, as well as to locations in Pennsylvania and Illinois. The DRS estimated that Vaswani”™s operations resulted in nearly $6 million in outstanding excise and sales tax.
“This action has put an end to what has been an ongoing crime involving as much as $250,000 in untaxed tobacco provided by the distributor and sold by local stores each month,” said DRS Commissioner Kevin Sullivan, whose agency worked with the Bridgeport Police Department in the five-month investigation of Vaswani”™s operation.
