Date Set to Sell Contraband Tobacco Seized in Mississippi
State Tax Commissioner Ed Morgan and State Auditor Stacey Pickering have announced that a public auction will be held Tuesday, October 27 to sell approximately 1 million cartons of discount brand cigarettes and small cigars that were discovered in Mississippi in April 2009.
The auction will take place at 278 Hwy. 178, Tupelo (Lee County) inside the warehouse facility where the cigarettes and cigars were seized by the State of Mississippi following a multi-state investigation that resulted in the largest discovery of contraband tobacco in US history.
Any persons interested in bidding or any potential bidder who desires to view the inventory prior to the sale should contact the Tupelo Office of the State Tax Commission at 662-842-4316. Potential bidders should call prior to the date of the sale to provide their method of payment and their plans for transportation of the product if their bid is successful and to set a time for an inspection of the product, if desired.
“I appreciate the efforts of Commissioner Morgan and his staff at the State Tax Commission in working through the red tape to be able to sell these products,” said State Auditor Stacey Pickering. “This discovery marks the largest of its kind ever found in the United States. The citizens of Mississippi are fortunate to have skilled tax and law enforcement professionals, like those with the State Auditor’s Office, State Tax Commission, Marshall County Sheriff, City of Tupelo Police, US Attorney for the Northern District of Mississippi, FBI and ATF, working on their behalf to ensure that cases are investigated and that individuals are held accountable when attempting to circumvent the law.”
Elected as Mississippi’s State Auditor in 2007, Stacey Pickering (R) has recovered over $3 million in embezzled, misspent or misappropriated funds. He is a seventh generation Mississippian from Jones County. While serving as a State Senator from 2004-2007 he was recognized by the Mississippi Association of Realtors as Legislator of the Year and is credited for co-authorizing legislation allowing Mississippi to end law suit abuse. He was named by the American Legislative Exchange Council to the national policy task forces on Transportation and Homeland Security, and founded and was co-chairman of the Miss. Legislative Sportsman’s Caucus. Throughout his political career, Pickering has made tremendous strides in creating more accountability and transparency in government and continues to promote fiscal responsibility and the need for more efficiency and productivity in government. For more information on Stacey Pickering, visit www.osa.state.ms.us/auditors-bio.htm.
Click Here to See Inventory Listing of Tobacco
Magnolia Tribune
