Defendant sentenced for contraband cigarette conspiracy

HUNTINGTON, W. Va. - Mr. Fodie Koita entered a guilty plea and was sentenced today for conspiring to transport contraband cigarettes, announced Acting United States Attorney Carol Casto. Koita, who has been incarcerated since September 23, 2015, was sentenced to credit for time served and placed on supervised release for three years. Upon discharge, Koita is being transferred to Indiana for additional fraud charges that are pending there, along with possible deportation proceedings through the Department of Homeland Security.

Koita, an immigrant from Mali, along with Mr. Yahya Willia, drove from New York City to Huntington to purchase contraband cigarettes in 2010. These cigarettes were purchased from Smokin’ Aces, a storefront that purported to be a discount tobacco store. The Smokin’ Aces store was actually an undercover storefront staffed by law enforcement agents posing as illegal brokers of contraband, including contraband cigarettes. The Smokin’ Aces investigation began in May 2010 and was concluded in March 2011. The contraband cigarettes did not have a tax stamp, meaning the conspirators purchased the cigarettes at a lower price than if they were taxed by the state of West Virginia. When the cigarettes were transported from West Virginia and resold in other states where cigarette taxes are higher, the conspiracy members received a greater profit from the illegal sales. In December 2010, Koita and Willia purchased 2,340 cartons of contraband cigarettes, transported the contraband from West Virginia to New York, and resold the cigarettes in New York. Willia was convicted in 2011 and subsequently deported to Nigeria by the Department of Homeland Security.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Huntington Police Department, and the West Virginia State Police conducted the investigation. Assistant United States Attorneys Erik S. Goes and Meredith George Thomas handled the prosecution. Chief United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers imposed the sentence.

This case was brought as the result of a significant undercover investigation that targeted criminal activity in the Huntington area, including illegal drugs and firearms crimes. The operation led to a substantial number of prosecutions, and was made public in March 2011 after a federal grand jury returned over 50 indictments.

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