STATEN ISLAND — The city wants to shut down three Staten Island delis after police found hundreds of packs of untaxed cigarettes for sale inside.
The Old Town Deli and Grocery in Old Town, Zenia Deli in West Brighton and VIP V&G Corp. in Castleton Corners could be shuttered after police bought packs of untaxed cigarettes inside and arrested four people over the summer, according to court documents.
The NYPD filed separate documents in Staten Island Supreme Court earlier this month to close each deli for at least a year under the nuisance abatement law.
From June until July 2016, undercover officers and informants bought packs of Newport cigarettes from the stores that either had no stamps or ones from Virginia on them, according to the documents.
Police then executed search warrants on each of the spots, confiscated cigarettes from the stores and arrested workers.
On July 13, officers executed a search warrant at VIP V&G, at 2003 Victory Blvd., and found more than 150 packs of untaxed cigarettes inside, according to the abatement complaint.
Police arrested Salim Khalfaoui, 43, and charged him with possession or sale of unstamped cigarettes.
His lawyer and the owners of the deli, listed as MBDB LLC., could not be reached for comment.
That same day officers carried out a search of Zenia Deli, at 416 Forest Ave., and found 62 packs of untaxed cigarettes inside, court documents show.
Sayed Salahuddin, 57, was arrested and charged with possession or selling of unstamped cigarettes, according to court documents.
The owner of Zenia Deli did not respond to a request for comment.
Police had their biggest bust on Sept. 6 when they found more than 300 packs of untaxed cigarettes inside the Old Town Deli at 203 Old Town Road, according to court documents.
Salah Al Lahabi, 28, and Sheib Al Zawquari, 24, were both arrested and charged with two counts of possession or sale of unstamped cigarettes, a spokeswoman for the NYPD said.
Al Lahabi's lawyer did not respond to a request for comment.
Al Zawquari's lawyer and the owners of the deli could not be reached for comment.
