NY Returns Seneca Cigarette Truck

Seneca Nation President responds to return of cigarette truck

Seneca Nation President Barry E. Snyder, Sr., made the following statement after state officials returned a recently seized cigarette truck.

“The Nation is glad to learn that the State has decided to return the truck and cigarettes improperly seized from one of our licensed wholesalers. But, the stop and seizure shouldn’t have happened in the first place. The State has no right to interfere with the Nation’s comprehensive regulation of our tobacco economy or the lawful trade of Seneca-stamped tobacco product among Seneca licensed businesses.

The State’s lack of a full explanation for its conduct throughout this process is a still a major concern. In refusing to provide a full explanation, State officials are in essence reserving the right to take additional aggressive action towards the Nation and the Seneca people. Hopefully, the State’s actions were the result of simple misunderstandings on the part of the State agents who were acting without authority from their supervisors—something that is easily explained to the public. However, the absence of a full explanation could lead this stop and seizure to be construed as part of a plan by the State to harass and bully Seneca people.”

Statement obtained from WIVB.