N.J. man found with 1,324 cartons of untaxed cigarettes

Maryland State Police say a traffic stop on the Eastern Shore led to the discovery of more than 1,300 cartons of untaxed cigarettes in a New Jersey man's van.

When a trooper stopped a man on Saturday near Berlin for negligent driving, police say he noticed cargo in the back and smelled tobacco. WGMD-FM reports that a search of the van turned up 1,324 cartons of cigarettes without tax stamps worth more than $79,000.

Police say the driver, 49-year-old Charles Davis Jr. of Carteret, N.J., did not have any documentation for transporting the cigarettes. The tax loss to the state is estimated at more than $26,000.

Davis was charged with transporting unstamped cigarettes and released on $25,000 bond.