ARDEN HEIGHTS — A man who had nearly 480,000 untaxed cigarettes in his house and car has been charged, prosecutors said.
Wenheng Zhao, 42, was hit with a three-count indictment Wednesday stemming from his Nov. 21 arrest after police found more than 2,000 unstamped cartons of cigarettes in his BMW and Arden Heights home, District Attorney Michael McMahon announced.
"This defendant smuggled unstamped cigarettes into Staten Island and sold his contraband to clients across the borough," said McMahon in a statement.
"His illegal business has been snuffed out and now he will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."
On Nov. 3, Zhao sold 56 cartons to undercover officers near the corner of Bay Street and Fingerboard Road, then 52 more to officers near his home on Nov. 18, prosecutors said.
After the sales, police executed a search warrant on Nov. 21 and found about 98 cartons inside his BMW and 2,189 cartons in his Forest Green home, McMahon said.
He was indicted on three counts of possession or sale of unstamped cigarettes and his bail was set at $50,000, the DA said.
Zhao pleaded not guilty in court to the charges and is due back on Jan. 26, according to online court records.
His lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
