Jefferson County authorities bust cigar-counterfeiting ring

[moki]

Not very clever, are they? Check out the brand they counterfeited...

.....

Jefferson County authorities bust cigar-counterfeiting ring

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Jefferson County authorities have arrested two men at the center of a cigar-counterfeiting ring that sent look-alike cigars across the Southeast.

Authorities say the operation was based in Homewood and McCalla. The suspects are identified as 30-year-old Jegil Wilissac Dugger and 32-year-old Faisal Hassan Elnaham.

They are charged with multiple counts of theft of trademark. Bond for both was set at $600,000. Dugger is still in jail, but Elnaham posted bond on Friday.

Authorities say the two would buy thousands of cheap and uninspected cigars from India and China, repackage them as name brands like Swisher Sweets and sell them to stores across the region.

 

[Sunshine86]

There is nothing I hate more than getting a fake Swisher.

 

[Kingantz]

I wonder what would happen to someone trying to pass off fake Arturo Fuente Opus and/or Anejo. :whistling:

 

[bfreebern]

Good Lord.

 

[junkman_56]

Wow, counterfeit Swisher Sweets. :laugh:
That's a new low in counterfeiting.

 

[jy0567]

I think you meant OR Anejo Greg

 

[Renefatdude]

Hm...in Holland they put mats in the mans toilets (do not know why) and they are called Swishers!

Rene

 

[moki]

Hm...in Holland they put mats in the mans toilets (do not know why) and they are called Swishers!

Rene

Rene, I believe that's actually what these cigars are named after. It certainly fits the taste profile, anyway.

These are garbage cigars coated in corn syrup and sold in gas stations all across the USA.

 

[Renefatdude]

Hm...in Holland they put mats in the mans toilets (do not know why) and they are called Swishers!

Rene

Rene, I believe that's actually what these cigars are named after. It certainly fits the taste profile, anyway.

These are garbage cigars coated in corn syrup and sold in gas stations all across the USA.

Cant wait to try one of those Swishers :sign:

Rene

 

[Not A Nice Person]

Just . . . . wow. Counterfeit Swishers. The mind boggles.

Article says "name brands like," so I'm guessing they faked more than one brand. Wonder if they did Philly Blunts?

"Hey! This Blunt doesn't taste like grape at ALL!" :laugh:

~Boar

 

[DirtyDave]

On a similar note, I recently received a counterfeit one dollar bill in a deposit from a waitress. If you're going to take the time to counterfeit something, make it worth your while... Freaking savages.

Edit to add: The poor girl worked hard for that and some a-hole gave her a fake $1 for a tip.

 

[nhcigarfan]

Frankly I find it funny that someone counterfeits a cigar that is actually a counterfeit of a real cigar.

 

[sspolv]

Part of me wonders how they were. Its not like they could be worse than an actual Swisher, so maybe it was a step up for some folks. I foresee a new wave of members in the near future.

 

[NullSmurf]

Wow, counterfeit Swisher Sweets.

That's a new low in counterfeiting.

Shit, who would notice?

 

[mufflerman]

They were actually ratted out by agents of the Swisher company, it turns out the counterfeits were BETTER than the originals!

 

[MoeCizlak]

How are we to know that any or all Swishers in recent passes were of lesser quality or not? Be on your toes people.

 

[Nick_Adams]

Hmmm, I think I got a counterfeit White Owl the other day. I should know better than to buy off of Ebay.

 

[ALostTexan]

I actually think this makes a hell of alot more sense than ya'll are giving them credit. Think about it for a minute. You know the counterfeiters weren't trying to sell these to big cigar guys because they would never guy Swishers anyway. These cigars were meant to go to non-cigar guys or to guys wanting to make blunts out of them that wouldn't know the difference anyway.

So, if you can import them for probably pennies per cigar, wrap a cheap band on them and package them as Swishers and sell them for $0.75 to $1.00 a stick, you have made a huge profit on them, and the story says that there were "thousands" of cigars in the bust. Why waste your time trying to counterfeit good cigars when you could make a big profit on them in this way.

I remember a few years ago at a herf a real cigar guy showing me a fake Macanudo. He was as blow away by getting it as I was to see it and kept it around to show off. But that makes a hell of alot of sense, too. Macs are some of the best selling cigars in the United States, and the buyers are primarily guys on golf courses that never smoke a cigar that only know to ask for a Mac and don't really know what the hell they are smoking. If you can get some cheap, cheap cigar, put any band on it that says "Macanudo" on it and sell it for a couple of dollars to some guy that isn't going to complain because he doesn't know enough to complain about it you can make a huge profit.

Just my opinion of the situation.