OAKLAND — Police here seized thousands of packs of cigarettes and more than $200,000 in suspected illegal proceeds during the raid of a local residence earlier this month.
On Oct. 10, police raided a home on the 3100 block of Minna Avenue in Oakland, after identifying as the suspected base of operations for an illegal cigarette business that was operating at Wilma Chan Park. All told, police seized more than $202,000 and 15,000 cigarette packets, most of which were imported from Germany and China, and are believed to have a higher level of nicotine than typical American cigarettes, authorities said.
The raid came after an anonymous tipster mailed letters to police, stating they saw suspicious activity at Wilma Chan Park. A plainclothes Oakland police surveillance team observed suspected illicit cigarette transactions at the park, and traced the sellers back to the Minna Avenue home, authorities said.
The suspects weren’t licensed to sell tobacco and the cigarettes were untaxed, according to police.





