Ten people have been arrested after agents from the state Department of Revenue Services raided a Bridgeport tobacco wholesaler accused of selling millions of dollars worth of untaxed tobacco to hundreds of Connecticut companies.
Agents from the state Department of Revenue Services raided KDV Discounts, LLC, in Bridgeport, and seized $50,000 in cash, $234,000 in contraband tobacco and a delivery van, according to a news release from state officials.
Pavan Vaswani, of West Haven, owns KDV Discounts and has been charged with possession/sale of untaxed tobacco and conspiracy to possess or sell untaxed tobacco, according to the state Department of Revenue Services.
State officials said Vaswani’s alleged ring bought tobacco in Pennsylvania and Illinois and sold more than $13 million in untaxed tobacco to around 450 retail locations in Connecticut, which resulted in the loss of $6 million in outstanding excise and sales tax/
“We are very serious about tax fraud,” Commissioner Kevin Sullivan said in a statement. “I am pleased that our special agents shut down a very lucrative operation that was a significant distributor of untaxed tobacco products throughout Fairfield and New Haven counties over several years.”
Several KVD Discounts employees and store owners have been charged with possession/sale of untaxed tobacco and conspiracy to possess/sell untaxed tobacco, including Carlos Beras, of Waterbury; Sayed Ahmen, of West Haven; Sheik Hossain, of West Haven; Joshua Ortiz, of Shelton; Quendri Ortiz, of Bridgeport; Mohamed Farook, of Naugatuck; Arti Patel, of Wallingford; Prashant Patel, of Naugatuck; and Abdulkadar Shaikh, of Stamford.
