RICHMOND, Va (WTVR)- Simultaneous strikes were seen at convenience store across Central Virginia Tuesday.
Sources tell CBS6 federal agents and local law enforcement agencies were cracking down on counterfeit, stolen goods and cigarette trafficking.
Box trucks and police tape: it was the common theme for least a half-dozen convenience stores Tuesday afternoon. And the evidence collecting took place in Henrico, Richmond and Chesterfield.
“Had the whole place shut down man,” said Lorenzo Haskins who lives near one of the raided stores. “The feds were in and out; you couldn't do anything around here."
People that live across the street from the Your Store in northern Chesterfield say they saw at least two men taken away in handcuffs. Law enforcement sources tell CBS 6 they know several men were detained but don't know if they are still in custody.
Police sources with knowledge of the investigation say police and the federal agents are following a trail of cigarette trafficking where cartons of smokes from area stores here worth 40 bucks are hauled to New York and sold on the black market, in some cases more than three times that.
Haskins lives across the street from the Your Store and claimed he saw what investigators were looking for, first-hand. "You can easily tell a fake,” he said. “Easily!"
Police sources confirmed counterfeit and stolen goods were part of their investigation, adding that they aren't finished and more raids will go down in the near future.
Richmond City Councilwoman Reva Trammel applauds the operation saying her constituents have been complaining about issues within a few convenience stores on Jeff Davis Highway. The investigation is far from over.
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