Illegal tobacco wholesale ring busted in Bridgeport

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.