Virginia – Woman pleads guilty in cigarette trafficking case

A New Jersey woman has plead guilty to a nearly $10 million cigarette trafficking scheme in Virginia. In U.S. District Court in Richmond, Laila Alayat pleaded guilty to conspiracy to traffic contraband cigarettes and witness tampering charges on Thursday. The 37-year-old faces up to 15 years in prison and will be sentenced in September. On March 2, Alayat and Eyad Salahedin were indicted on the conspiracy charge after they were accused of using shell companies to buy large amounts of cigarettes from wholesale stores in Virginia. According to officials, they then transported the cigarettes to New Jersey to resell the on the black market. Salahedin will go to trial Aug. 29.