Comptroller Wants Increased Smuggling Penalties

FORESTVILLE, Md. (AP) -- Comptroller Peter Franchot wants to crack down on cigarette smuggling.

Franchot, along with representatives from his field enforcement division and the Center for Tobacco Regulation, will call for tougher penalties for cigarette smugglers Monday.

The General Assembly is considering legislation to increase penalties for people caught smuggling cigarettes into Maryland.

The House of Delegates passed the legislation in March and a Senate committee recently considered the bill, but has not yet voted on the measure.

According to officials in the comptroller's office, more cigarettes have been confiscated in the last nine months than in the entire 2011 fiscal year.

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