Chandler Man Imprisoned FOR SMUGGLING AND SELLING VIETNAMESE CIGARETTES

     PHOENIX –On June 10, 2019, Vien Tang, 49, of Chandler, AZ, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge David G. Campbell to 8 months in prison for Unlawful Importation of Tobacco. 

     From 2014 through May 2018, Tang and his then-wife, Lien Tang, 47, had Vietnamese cigarettes shipped from Vietnam to their home in Chandler. Approximately 8,000 cartons of cigarettes, which were concealed in packages designed to look like wrapped gifts, were delivered to the Tang home during the scheme. On a daily basis, Tang sold the smuggled cigarettes for cash out of the back of vehicles in parking lots of businesses in Mesa and Chandler. Tang frequently traveled to Vietnam to arrange for the cigarette shipments, and in his absence, Lien Tang handled daily sales. 

     Lien Tang previously pleaded guilty to the same charge and was sentenced to three years’ probation. The Tangs were ordered to pay more than $275,000 in restitution.

     The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Department of Homeland Security-Criminal Investigations, and the Department of Treasury, Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau. The prosecution was handled by Monica B. Edelstein, Assistant U.S. Attorney, District of Arizona, Phoenix.