Had to happen: fake cigarettes on the street:
Authorities seized nearly 600,000 packs of cigarettes with brand names like Marlboros and Newports, half of which are suspected of being counterfeits from China, prosecutors announced Monday.
Three Chinese men were arrested in the raid late last week at a warehouse in the Corona section of Queens, Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice said at a news conference. The cigarettes have an estimated street value of more than $3.4 million.
Wait, wait, it gets better:
Because the counterfeits originated in China, they were not subject to any regulatory review of their ingredients and could contain "dangerously high levels of tar and nicotine,'' said Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown.
You know, as opposed to the quite acceptable levels of tar and nicotine in ordinary cigarettes. Those wicked Chinese; it's one thing to contaminate our pet food and toothpaste. But to make our cigarettes unsafe!
