Sheriff to Send Counterfeits to Troops

Michael Moretti
Posted: March 18, 2008

Rather than destroy counterfeit Cuban-label cigars seized from a drug dealer, a Michigan sheriff plans to send them to U.S. troops stationed overseas.

The standard protocol would be to destroy the 1,500 cigars taken off a convicted drug felon in early January in Oakland County, a northern suburb of Detroit, by drug officers. However, last week county Sheriff Mike Bouchard said that the cigars could be better used to provide respite for soldiers from their stressful daily routines.

"Several of our deputies have been deployed overseas and when asked what they would like from home it's always been creature comforts like snacks, DVDs and cigars," said Bouchard in an article from The Detroit News. "For some servicemen, enjoying a good cigar during some of their down time is relaxing and reminds them of being at home."

Bouchard told the Detroit Free Press that he could not have given the cigars away if they were genuine Cuban smokes, but said that the cigars were actually made in the Dominican Republic. The sheriff's office is taking donations from the public to pay for the overseas shipping of the cigars.

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