Tobacco Fuels Addiction, And Terrorism
David Kaplan, editorial director of the Center for Public Integrity, is the editor of a new report linking cigarette smuggling to terrorism. Ariel Olson Surowidjojo/Courtesy of the Center for Public Integrity hide caption
Cigarette smuggling is a lucrative, low-risk business that is sometimes used to help fund terrorist organizations around the world, according to a new report by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.
The report, "Tobacco Underground," charts the paths of smugglers working for the Taliban, Hezbollah, the Kurdistan Workers' Party, the Real Irish Republican Army (Real IRA) and others.
David Kaplan, editorial director at The Center for Public Integrity and editor of the report, explains how the multibillion-dollar business fuels organized crime, robs governments of tax money and spurs addiction.
Kaplan has worked as chief investigative correspondent for U.S. News & World Report and was one of two senior editors at the San Francisco-based Center for Investigative Reporting.